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The subject of this post by RD may prove to be a major opportunity to make money over the next bull market (I think it will begin in 2010). I will be adding investment ideas to this post as time goes on. If any readers have ideas regarding alternative energy sources then please feel free to add comments and/or ticker symbols.

"T. Boone Pickens, Jr.

From Wikipedia

Natural gas
Pickens has begun speaking out on the issue of peak oil, claiming that world oil production is about to enter a period of irrevocable decline. He has called for the construction of more nuclear power plants, the use of natural gas to power the country's transportation systems, and the promotion of alternative energy. Pickens' involvement with the natural gas fueling campaign is long-running. He formed Pickens Fuel Corp. in 1997 and began touting natural gas as the best vehicular fuel alternative because it's a domestic resource that, among many advantages, is clean (Natural Gas Vehicles or NGVs emit up to 95% less pollution than gasoline or diesel vehicles) and reduces foreign oil consumption. Reincorporated as Clean Energy in 2001, the company now owns and operates natural gas fueling stations from British Columbia to the Mexican border.

On September 19, 2007, Pickens told CNBC that the price of oil could rise to $100. "Demand is up and supply is flat, so it's got to go on up," said Pickens, whose company is betting on natural gas for vehicles. "I can give you an Oklahoma guarantee that natural gas will never sell above diesel and gasoline prices" as fuel for vehicles, Pickens added.[30]

Wind Power
In June 2007, Pickens announced that he intends to build the world's largest wind farm by installing large wind turbines in parts of four Panhandle counties. The project would produce up to four thousand megawatts of electricity. Pickens' Mesa Power LP will undertake the construction. If completed, the farm would generate more than five times the 735 megawatts produced at the present largest such farm near Abilene, according to Susan Williams Sloan, spokesman for the American Wind Energy Association.[31]

On August 16, 2007, Pickens' Mesa Power announced that it had filed documents with the state of Texas to add four thousand megawatts of electricity to the state grid. The filing with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) projected that the project would be completed in 2011 and would include up to 2,700 turbines on up to 200,000 acres (810 km²) in Roberts and adjacent counties in the Texas Panhandle. "We are now meeting with Panhandle landowners and negotiating wind lease and easement agreements," said Pickens. "We are excited at how quickly the pieces are falling into place." [32]

On January 30, 2008, The Oklahoman reported that Pickens is ready to start buying wind turbines for the project within a month, that he plans to buy between 1,700 and 2,000 turbines, and that they will cost from $200 million to $300 million.[33] Pickens added that he has been approached by twenty potential partners on the project but has not yet made a final decision.[33] "We have not picked any banker and we have not picked any partner," Pickens said.[33] "It is kind of nice ... I have decided I can get pretty far down the track" before having to make those choices."[33] Pickens predicted that similar wind farm projects could be built in the Texas Panhandle and the US-Canadian border in the future.[33]

On May 15, 2008, Pickens' Mesa Power announced that it had placed a first order for 667 1.5-megawatt turbines from General Electric.[34] The turbines will be delivered in 2010 and 2011.


The Pickens Plan
On July 8, 2008, Pickens announced a major energy policy proposal called "The Pickens Plan" (http://www.pickensplan.com/media/). The plan promotes alternatives to oil, including natural gas, wind, and solar.[35] A major feature of the plan is replacing the 22% of its electricity that the United States gets from natural gas with wind energy, which would then allow that natural gas to provide 38% of the States' fuel for transportation and reduce its dependence on foreign oil. The Pickens Plan calls for the United States to leverage its wind corridor in the middle of the country which stretches from Texas through the great plains to the Canadian border.

Pickens plans to spend $58 million on his multi-media effort to promote the Pickens Plan. Pickens multi-media campaign includes old media, such as newspaper and TV, and new media, such as YouTube and Facebook.[36]

As part of this effort, Pickens has appeared on ABC's Good Morning America, the CBS Evening News, CNN and Fox News.[37]

Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, has expressed support of the Pickens Plan.[38]

This post has been edited by Rogerdodger: Yesterday, 02:01 PM"