Pickens

Texas oil man made a big splash, but has little to show for it

NEW YORK – The past year has been tough on T. Boone Pickens and his $60 million mission to wean America off of foreign oil.

Over the past 12 months, Pickens pressed the public to rethink its use of energy. His “Pickens Plan” called for a number of changes such as investing in wind and solar energy, rebuilding the country’s electrical grid and replacing gasoline with natural gas in cars and trucks.

Pickens says he was influential in starting a national dialog on energy and helped draft legislation that would give tax incentives for natural gas-burning vehicles.

But after spending millions on television commercials and a public relations tour that took him to 74 cities and 22 town halls, his plan has run into some sizeable hurdles, most notably a crash in energy prices. As prices plunged, the Texas billionaire’s hedge funds lost billions of dollars. Pickens also scrapped plans for the world’s biggest wind farm, and California voters rejected a natural gas initiative he backed.

“I do wonder how long that I can continue at the pace,” Pickens, 81, said Tuesday in an interview with Associated Press reporters and editors. “I know my time is limited. I’m in a hurry. I want to get this done.”

AP