(Cross posted from EnvironmentNC.com)
This article by Paul Driessen with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
spells out why T. Boone Pickens? energy scheme won?t work
for the country, but in the process he also notes how it will work quite
nicely for old T. Boone himself:
Since adequate wind is available only 3-8 hours a day,
we would also need expensive gas-fired generating plants that mostly
run at idle, kicking in whenever the wind dies down. That means still
more money?and still higher electricity prices.A successful speculator and corporate raider, who critics say never
actually found oil, Pickens has large natural gas holdings that
position him to make billions from selling gas for backup electricity
generation ? especially if drilling bans remain in effect, keeping gas
prices in the stratosphere. Launching the enterprise with the backing
of federal mandates and subsidies minimizes his financial risk and
attracts semi-free-market investors, by putting the risks for his
scheme on the backs of taxpayers and right-of-way owners. His ad
campaign could pay off 100:1