Wind blows Texas oilman in to Le Mars to talk energy

T. Boone Pickens, right, Texas multi-billionaire and oilman visited with a member of the audience, Mark Dubendorf of Collins, Iowa, before Pickens took the stage at the Le Mars Convention Center to spin his plan to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Le Mars is one of 11 stops on Pickens' Midwest townhall tour. Dubendorf, one of many who traveled to northwest Iowa to see Pickens, said he's been a fan of the businessman for 40 years. [Click to enlarge]

He may be 80 but an audience member still called T. Boone Pickens a "rockstar."

The Texas oilman and billionaire landed his jet at the Le Mars airport Thursday afternoon to spin to Iowans his plan for reducing U.S. dependency on foreign oil.

His idea: shift to using more wind energy and natural gas -- two things in which the nation is rich.

More than 600 people filled the Le Mars Convention Center to hear T. Boone Pickens speak Thursday afternoon. The crowd was a mix of curious locals and visitors from as far as New York and Arizona hoping to get some face time with the billionaire. [Click to enlarge]

More than 600 people, a mix of local and visitors from as far as New York and Arizona, filled the Le Mars Convention Center to hear the "Pickens Plan" from the Texas native who started Mesa Petroleum, which produced more than 3 trillion cubic feet of gas and 150 million barrels of oil in 30 years.

Pickens told the audience that the U.S. is addicted to oil, importing $700 billion every year.

"We're very vulnerable from a security standpoint and economically we're flirting with disaster to let that kind of money flow out," Pickens said.

Audience members hoping for an autograph or an answer to a question on the Pickens Plan caught up with Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens after he shared his energy plan at the Le Mars Convention Center Thursday. [Click to enlarge]

His energy plan, Pickens said, will cut the percentage of oil we're importing by 30 percent in 10 years.

How his plan works

Right now, 50 percent of the power generated in the U.S. is by coal, 20 percent is nuclear power and 22 percent is natural gas, he said.

He's proposing to replace the natural gas piece of that puzzle with wind energy, which would in turn release natural gas to be used for transportation.

"Of all the oil we get, 70 percent of it is used for transportation," Pickens said. "We cannot continue at the rate we that we use transportation fuel."

Pickens said a U.S. Department of Energy study found in 2007 that wind could generate 20 percent of the nation's power.

Why Le Mars?

Pickens proposes developing the "wind corridor" in the U.S., stretching from Texas to Canada, and the "solar corridor" stretching from Texas to California.

Le Mars' location is one of the reasons he chose to stop in the Plymouth County seat Thursday during his 11-city townhall tour.

"Iowa is big in the wind corridor, so you have to have a spot in Iowa to go," he said. "Le Mars is up and coming, it's a beautiful community...And I love ice cream."

His other visits range from metro areas like Topeka, Kan. to towns like Lamar, Colo., with a population of about 8,500.

While in corn-rich Plymouth County, the Texas oilman also gave a nod to ethanol -- he supports continued ethanol subsidies.

We're not ready yet

Pickens said his plan would take 5-10 years to unroll because, right now, the transmission system for wind energy is not in place.

He's pushing for the federal government to pick up right of way on private land for transmission lines or offer tax credits for people in the private sector to build the lines.

"I think you've got to have the federal government give us access," Pickens said.

Actually building the wind turbines, he said, should also be in the hands of the private sector.

One of his companies, Mesa Power, is planning the world's largest wind farm, up to 200,000 acres on the Texas Panhandle with up to 2,700 wind turbines, enough to fuel millions of homes.

As for shifting to natural gas for transportation, Pickens said the options are out there.

He owns a Honda GX Civic, runs on natural gas, which he fuels from his home at night -- a process that takes about eight hours.

That car is the only U.S. model that runs on natural gas, but 19 models are available -- in South America and Europe.

Making the switch to natural gas for transportation, including shipping trucks, is doable, he said.

"The stations can be built as quickly as you can get the equipment," he said. "We own 170 stations, so I know how that works."

What's it to you?

Pickens, who has major investments in both wind and natural gas, didn't deny that his plan would be a cash-in for his companies.

He was coy in answering what exactly that benefit would look like.

"Anything I'm in, I expect to make a profit," he said, saying that for a plan like this to work, the nation would need a "pioneer" to invest in giant wind farms. "Don't ever have the idea there's something to apologize for, for making a profit."

The audience treated Pickens like a rockstar, responding to most of Pickens' plan -- and his jokes -- with applause.

Even when his cell phone rang three times during his speech, the crowd cheered.

"I fixed that," he said, flipping his phone shut. "I wish I could fix the energy problem that easily."

A critical look

Some audience members questioned his plan, including the idea that few people would want a wind turbine in their backyard.

Others asked whether switching to natural gas for transportation fuel would drive up natural gas costs.

Pickens admitted it might, but not higher than petroleum prices.

He predicted that oil won't dip below $100 a barrel, and will most likely stay in the $110 range.

"(Natural gas) is going to be cheaper. It'll be half the cost of gasoline," Pickens said. "The utility companies aren't going to like what we're doing, the chemical companies aren't going to like what we're doing because they want to use natural gas, and probably the major oil companies aren't going to like it."

One man later asked if already tight margins in farming would be even tighter when demand for natural gas increases the price of anhydrous ammonia, a natural gas product.

"It probably will happen," Pickens said. "I can't solve everything."

Not a permanent fix

The natural gas supply will run out, Pickens admitted.

"Natural gas is not fuel forever," he said. "We don't have that much natural gas."

The Pickens Plan, he said, would work for 20-30 years.

"Then you are going to have to go to the next generation (of fueling technology) for transportation fuel," he said. "That will have to be addressed soon."

Debuting his plan in a presidential election year, Pickens says he has no favorite in the race between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. Energy, he said, is a totally non-partisan issue.

"I want to put pressure on both these guys and I want with them to come up with an energy plan, and I think mine's the best one," Pickens said. "You either have a plan or you're for foreign oil."