bucksfrombytes

Pickens Explains His Plan

Pickens pitches his plan as an integrated whole, in which subsidized wind, subsidized electrical infrastructure, and subsidized purchases of CNG vehicles all happen at once. But in fact, the use of CNG-fueled long-haul trucks could work by itself. The recent development of extraction techniques for natural gas from shale formations means that America - and other countries - have an unexpected and abundant new source of fossil fuel.

Maybe large-scale wind farms and solar arrays, along with a costly improved electrical infrastructure, will be made to pay off someday. But the natural gas network works now in most places, and where it is lacking, moving gas in tankers by truck and rail can work well enough. The major big-rig manufactures offer some CNG-powered vehicles now, and since long-haul tractors are often worked very hard, they wear out and are replaced quickly in many cases. This means that a large market for CNG tractors could emerge quickly, if an adequate system of refueling were established on the Interstate highways, and if natural gas were priced substantially below the equivalent price of diesel fuel.

CLNE looks like the big winner in this scenario, even if windmills, solar panels, pyramid power, and fermented banana peels disappoint.