Oilman T. Boone Pickens spoke to more than 100 Washington energy elites Tuesday night at a private reception hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations. Touting natural gas and cracking jokes with audience members, Pickens was adamant about the U.S. becoming energy independent.
With his plan, Pickens emphasized that the Mideast could be "clear out of the picture" in 10 years. Pickens' plan would generate energy from natural gas and wind. Wind energy, though, raises this concern: Where to put the transmission lines from wind energy sources? This obstacle, while not addressed in any great detail at this event, was a hot topic at the Clean Energy Summit Pickens spoke at earlier this week in Washington.
Indeed, Pickens has been all over the country, airwaves and op-ed pages this month pushing Congress to go further with its clean energy investments than what the stimulus allocated. He says, for example, the country should build a more reliable electrical transmission grid and develop "smart-grid" technologies. The Pickens Plan, not surprisingly, fits squarely into the oilman's vision for what the new administration's energy plan should be.
Shawn Jones, an editor and photographer for Clean Skies TV, (a web-based news network sponsored by the American Clean Skies Foundation) calls Pickens their "unofficial spokesman." The foundation was founded by Aubrey McClendon, the CEO of Chesapeake Energy, one of the country's top natural gas companies. Jones, who has followed Pickens around throughout the country extensively since the Democratic National Convention in August, described this CFR event as far more "intimate" than most. This atmosphere lent itself well to Pickens opening up, cracking jokes and ultimately having a conversation with people likely to be right along with the oilman pushing the new administration on energy policy.
While Pickens reiterated to the crowd a point he made to Senate Majority Harry Reid, D-Nev., at the Democratic Convention -- that "he's out of politics" -- he seems to be moving swiftly through the revolving door. Whether it's having conversations with Barack Obama during the presidential campaign or schmoozing with Washington insiders at intimate events and high-profile conferences, Pickens appears to be quite comfortable with the art of lobbying.
-- Amy Harder
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