T. Boone
Pickens made his fortune in oil. But now the Dallas oilman and famed former
corporate raider is betting $2 billion that he can have the same success with a
new source of energy - wind.
Pickens’ Mesa Power LLP yesterday (Thursday) unveiled the first phase of an
eventual $10 billion alternative energy project that has the potential to become
the world’s largest wind farm.
"You find an oilfield, it peaks and starts declining, and you’ve got to find
another one to replace it," Pickens, who once operated one of the largest independent
oil-and-gas production companies in the country, said of the deal. "It can
drive you crazy. With wind, there’s no decline curve."
Mesa Power will purchase 667 wind turbines from General Electric Co. (GE). Each turbine
can produce 1.5 megawatts of electricity. The first phase of the project will
produce 1,000 megawatts, enough energy to power 300,000 homes. GE will begin
delivering the turbines in 2010, and current plans call for the project to start
producing power in 2011.
"T. Boone Pickens’ commitment underscores the ability of wind technology to
help meet the country’s need for diverse sources of energy," said Jeffrey R. Immelt, GE’s chairman and CEO. "As America’s demand
for energy escalates, it is clear that wind can and will play a bigger part in
meeting that need. We’re excited to partner with an energy visionary like T.
Boone Pickens to bring our wind technology to the marketplace."
Ultimately, Mesa Power plans to have enough turbines to produce 4,000
megawatts of energy, the overall project is expected to cost $10 billion and be
completed in 2014.
Mesa Power has leased sparsely populated land in the Texas panhandle, where
the wind often blows during daylight hours when energy needs are highest. Texas’
Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) transmission lines will deliver what
Pickens hopes will be "cost effective and reliable electricity generated by
renewable energy power projects."
"We have had a great response to this project," Pickens said. "We are making
Pampa the wind capital of the world.
