LAMAR — T. Boone Pickens swooped into Colorado for the second time in the past month Wednesday, drumming up support for his plan to cut the country’s foreign-oil dependency. A standing-room crowd of about 375 at the Elks Lodge warmly welcomed the 80-year-old Texas oil-and-gas tycoon, applauding his entrance before an official introduction.
Attendees included residents from this farming community about 200 miles southeast of Denver, visitors from neighboring states and politicians such as U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and state Rep. Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo.
“I want you with me, and that’s the only way to get the pressure on Washington to do what we need to do,” Pickens said.
Pickens wants to substantially boost wind power to replace natural gas as a primary source for electricity. Natural gas, which currently generates 22 percent of the nation’s power, could then be used as a transportation fuel, cutting demand for gasoline.
The proposal was generally well-received, though some locals questioned Pickens’ motive and others raised concerns about the ability to transmit electricity from new wind farms into communities.
“There’s two people who would benefit from this,” said Patrick Hume, a farmer from Vilas. “Him, on the natural-gas side, and potentially us, on the wind side.”
Pickens chose Lamar for the second of a series of town-hall meetings, he said, because the community is part of the “wind belt” that stretches from Texas to Canada. The area surrounding Lamar is home to a pair of wind farms that generate more than 200 megawatts of power, and a turbine is visible from the heart of town.
“I think it’s a good plan,” said Beverly Babb, an environmentalist from La Junta. “The plan goes hand in hand with what Al Gore is doing.”
Pickens doesn’t totally agree. Gore wants to eliminate all fossil- fuel generation within 10 years because of global-warming concerns, something Pickens said isn’t realistic.
For Pickens’ plan to be realistic, he’ll need a lot of help from the government and taxpayers.
Pickens wants the government to provide tax credits for the production of wind farms and either build or provide subsidies for transmission lines that would carry electricity from the wind farms. He also wants all future government fleets to run on natural gas instead of gasoline.
“Why should taxpayers pay billions of dollars to help him sell his natural gas?” Westcliffe resident Norman Griffin said before the hour-long meeting.
Pickens spoke for about 30 minutes before taking questions from more than a dozen people.
McFadyen said the plan was “excellent” but wants a component that would involve local businesses.
Udall said he believes Congress, after a summer of delays, will approve legislation that provides tax credits for renewable-energy development by September.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com
