Did He or Didn’t He? The Question Others Really Wonder if T. Boone Pickens Thought to Ask

Could T. Boone have missed the most obvious question? That’s the question I found myself asking after reading various blog responses to his announced plan to invest $2 billion in wind energy. Skeptics and critics in the blogosphere were calling into question the wisdom of the plan because of wind instability. So I found myself asking, “How likely is it that a multi-billionaire with five decades of experience in energy would decide to build the largest wind farm in the world and never ask himself this -

‘What if the wind doesn’t blow?’”

If you look at his video presentation, he references a large graphic of a wind map of the world. According to that map, the Midwest US is the number one place in the world for wind generation. But where did the map come from? Another presentation he uses references this wind map.

Turns out he is using maps produced by 3Tier, consistent with those from the United States Department of Energy, National Energy Research Laboratory.

I am at no risk of ever being accused of being a scientist, but it seems the scientific community does not dispute the significance of wind power generated in the Great Plains of the US.

I am particularly impressed with Mr. Pickens because he is calling on the private sector to take action. In case you missed it, Congress recently voted to kill a one billion dollar tax credit for investing in alternative energy. They couldn’t find the money to pay for it, yet we are paying $700 billion per year for oil to nations that don’t like us. Mr. Pickens isn’t waiting around for the government to give him permission to get this done, he’s taking it on head-first himself, and calling others to join him. Is there a profit motive in Mr. Pickens? Personally, I hope so. If he’s going to call on the private sector to do what the government won’t – invest in alternative energy – he needs to lead the way in showing the private sector that there is money to be made in heeding the call.

This week, Mr. Pickens is the pick for driving innovation for the sake of society. He made a plan and put money behind it. That’s more than anyone else has done. Is it perfect? I don’t care. It’s a start and we can improve upon it as we go. Like any business, execution trumps strategic planning every time. He’s executing his plan when others are debating whether it is even necessary to plan at all. And what he’s doing may benefit his pocketbook, but it also benefits society and arguably our national security whether you are a shareholder in his company or not. Now that is a value proposition I can get behind.

Should the government adopt or in some way get behind the Pickens Plan?

If you want to see a short video of T. Boone Pickens explaining on a whiteboard what he is doing and why you should care about it, click on the picture below.

But be sure to come back and let me know what you think.

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