Wind Energy & T. Boone Pickens' Plan
Wind Energy & T. Boone Pickens' Plan Save Email Print
Lamar
Posted: 3:30 PM Aug 10, 2008
Last Updated: 6:28 PM Aug 10, 2008
Reporter: Rosie Barresi
Email Address: rbarresi@kktv.com

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The number of wind farms across the country is expected to boom significantly over the next 20-years. Southeast Colorado already has the second largest number of wind turbines in the country.

All it takes is a little wind, but the key is to have steady slow wind.

Right now there are about 8,000 wind turbines in the country, but once oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens is done he'll have the world's largest wind farm located in Texas.

Pickens visited Lamar a few days ago to tell them all about his energy ideas. People are excited. "Get on with it. We've got to do something, we've just got to," said Lamar resident, Verdell Howard.

His plans you might say are gusty. "We can do it if we all do it together," said Pickens. Plus, Pickens has already blown his ideas past John McCain and Barack Obama.

"I think both presidential candidates are listening to what I'm saying and probably realize that I know more about energy than anybody they're dealing with," said Pickens.

Pickens says if we put turbines from the Texas panhandle to North Dakota they would produce 20% of our nation's electricity.

"The U.S. goals are to develop 20% alternative energy nationally, and if we do that with wind that means the need is 75,000 towers by 2020," said Dragon Products Chief Operating Officer, Doug Fierce.

That's why Fierce bought the old Neoplan building in Lamar. Fierce's company will start building towers in January of 2009, and they'll make 300 a year.

"I think it's the way of the future," said Prowers County Resident and wind farmer, Bill Emick.

Emick has a total of 108 wind turbines on his property which supplies power to 52,000 homes or a quarter of million people along the front range.

"There's nothing more important than harvesting all of our American energy. That means drilling more, that means taking a fresher look at nuclear power, it means enhancing our bio-fuels production and it means harvesting the wind," said 2ND District Congressman, Mark Udall.

The only downfall is some people don't like how big they are or some of the noise they make, but farmers who have the turbines on their farm-land are still able to farm around the towers.

T. Boone Pickens explains everything about his ideas and plans on wind energy on his website, www.pickensplan.com.

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Posted by: Elisabeth Location: Dallas, TX on Aug 13, 2008 at 11:50 AM
Please don't forget about "natural gas". It's equally important.