But a year ago, the 81-year old chairman of BP Capital spent his own money to buy prime time on major networks and mobilized an “army” of believers in order to get the word out about the dangers of continued dependence on foreign oil.

Earlier this month, Pickens appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” to discuss the progress of the “Pickens Plan,”which essentially seeks to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil through a combination of wind-generated power and natural gas powered vehicles. The goal: Drastically reducing or eliminating the need for foreign oil in as little as 10 years.

His timing was perfect, as oil prices shot to all-time highs around $150 a year ago. The plan garnered a lot of attention. And to his credit, over the past 12 months, nobody else has articulated a plan as clearly and succinctly as Pickens’ has.

Today, however, oil prices are down some 54% and the U.S. is sliding deeper into recession. Is shutting off foreign oil still a concern? Have we made any progress in doing so? Are we any closer to a national energy plan?

The short answers are:

1. Definitely yes
2. Yes
3. Almost

Let me explain…

Get Rid Of The Rogues… And Pocket $400 Billion

While the price of oil has declined dramatically over the past year, our dependency on foreign oil is as great as ever. We still get over 70% of our oil from other countries, and it’s a huge security issue.

While the transfer of wealth – dollars out for oil in – is less, it’s still a huge net outflow of nearly $400 billion annually.

There’s no question that keeping that money here will not only have a positive effect on our trade balance, it’ll make a huge difference in the U.S. economy – a “free” $400 billion annual stimulus package, if you will.

Alternatively, according to Pickens, “If we go 10 more years with no plan, we’ll be importing 75% of our oil and it will cost us $300 a barrel.”

Even if he’s wrong by 50% – which is unlikely given increasing world demand – it’s still a big problem. So how do we get rid of the rogues?

The “Anti-Oil”: U.S. Natural Gas Reserves Soaring

In terms of our progress in displacing foreign oil, there’s only one quick way to do it: Replace it with natural gas.

The Potential Gas Committee – the nation’s authority on natural gas supplies – recently issued a report that showed a substantial increase in U.S. natural gas reserves.

The report indicated that the nation’s gas reserves have increased by 25% to 2,074 trillion cubic feet (tcf) from 1,532 tcf in 2006 – the last time the report was issued. It was the largest increase in the 44-year history of the committee and its language reflected that: “[The report] shows an exceptionally strong and optimistic gas supply picture for the nation.”

That’s an understatement. By 2030, it projects a supply of nearly one hundred years – the most in the world.

John B. Curtis, a geology professor at the Colorado School of Mines and the report’s principal author, said,“New and advanced exploration, well drilling and completion technologies are allowing us increasingly better access to domestic gas resources – especially unconventional gas – which, not that long ago, were considered impractical or uneconomical to pursue.”

The findings have shifted the focus onto natural gas as a possible transition fuel as we move from coal and oil to solar, wind, geothermal and other non-carbon sources of power. It couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.

A National Energy Plan: Slow And Steady, But Are We Winning The Race?

The best thing the government can do to move us away from fossil fuels is to provide funding and tax incentives to develop and use something else (and then get the hell out of the way). And it appears as though Congress is trying to do just that with natural gas.

H.R. 1835, known as the “New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act of 2009,” amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to create jobs and encourage alternative energy investments.

Here’s what this act provides:

• An excise tax credit through 2027 for alternative fuels and motor vehicles involving compressed or liquefied natural gas (LNG).

• An income tax credit through 2027 for vehicles powered by compressed or LNG.

• A new tax credit for the production of vehicles fueled by natural gas or LNG.

• A tax credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property expenditures for refueling property relating to compressed or LNG and allow an increased credit for such property.

• Requires 50% of all new vehicles purchased or placed in service by the U.S. government by December 31, 2014, to be capable of operating on compressed or LNG.

• Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to make grants to manufacturers of light and heavy-duty natural gas vehicles for the development of engines that reduce emissions, improve performance and efficiency, and lower cost.

Now before I get a dozen e-mails pointing out that natural gas is just a different fossil fuel, let me head them off. There’s no argument there. But here’s where it’s very beneficial…

The Benefits Of Natural Gas – And How To Play It

Natural gas is a much cleaner burning fuel, produces less carbon emissions and, most importantly, it’s found here in abundance. It’s a walk in the park to produce new cars and trucks that run on it, and convert older ones as well.

And if it helps free of the grip of rogue nations around the world in 10 years or less, then I’m all for it. We’ll all be better off economically, and we’ll all have greater piece of mind.

How do you play it? Take a look at Clean Energy Fuels Corporation (Nasdaq: CLNE), a provider of natural gas as a vehicle fuel, primarily for fleet use in the United States and Canada. It designs, builds and operates natural gas fueling stations, and provides financing for natural gas vehicles. It and others in the sector will undoubtedly benefit from this legislation when it’s passed.

Source:  Energy Independence: The Progress, The Problems… And A Way To Profit

{Editor’s Note: One year ago, oil prices were atrecord highs… the U.S. political scene was gridlocked amid the presidential election… and a fellow named T. Boone Pickens was promoting a bold new plan to wean the U.S. off its oil dependency and towards wind power and natural gas instead (and Pickens is an oilman). Today, oil prices are trading around $68, so where does the “Pickens Plan” stand now? Investment U columnist and infrastructure specialist David Fessler reports on whether cheaper oil prices have dampened the drive towards greater energy independence, plus a way to play a natural gas-powered future.  Martin Denholm, Managing Editor, Smart Profits Report}

Readers might remember it was during the heat of the Presidential campaign last summer, on July 8, that Pickens began his own campaign to wean the nation off of foreign oil.

Spending his own money, he bought time on the major networks and mobilized an “army” of believers in order to get the word out about the dangers of continued dependence on foreign oil.

Essentially, the Pickens Plan seeks to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil with a combination of wind-generated power and natural gas powered vehicles. In the process, the need for foreign oil is drastically reduced or eliminated in as little as 10 years.

His timing – with oil prices hovering around $150 a barrel – got him a lot of attention. He spent time last August meeting with both McCain and Obama in hopes that – regardless of the election’s outcome – the victor would understand the magnitude of the problem and get behind an energy plan for the United States.

In the last 12 months, to his credit no other plan has been articulated as clearly and succinctly as Pickens’ has.

Now it’s one year later: Obama is President, oil prices are less than half of what they were a year ago, and the country is sliding deeper into recession. Is shutting off foreign oil still a concern? Have we made any progress in doing so? Are we any closer to a national energy plan?

The short answers are definitely yes, yes and almost. Let me explain:

Still at the Mercy and Whims of Whackos…

While the price of oil has come down dramatically in the last year, our dependency on foreign oil is as great as it ever was. We still get over 70% of our oil from other countries, and it’s a huge security issue.

While the transfer of wealth – dollars out for oil in – is less, it’s still a huge net outflow of nearly $400 billion annually.

There’s no question that keeping that money here will not only have a positive effect on our trade balance, it’ll make a huge difference in the U.S. economy… a “free” $400 billion annual stimulus package, if you will.

Alternatively, according to Boone, “If we go 10 more years with no plan, we’ll be importing 75% of our oil and it will cost us $300 a barrel.”

Even if he’s wrong by 50% – which is unlikely given increasing world demand – it’s still a big problem. So how do we get rid of the rogues?

Closing the Door on OPEC: Light at the End of the Tunnel

In terms of our progress in displacing foreign oil, there’s only one quick way to do it: replace it with natural gas. Just a few weeks ago, the Potential Gas Committee – the nation’s authority on natural gas supplies – issued a report that shows a substantial increase in natural gas reserves here in the United States.

The report indicated that the nation’s gas reserves increased 25% to 2,074 trillion cubic feet (tcf) from 1,532 tcf in 2006 – the last time the report was issued.

This was the largest increase in the 44-year history of the committee, and its language was reflective of that fact: “[The report] shows an exceptionally strong and optimistic gas supply picture for the nation.”

That’s an understatement: At 2030 projected U.S. consumption rates of about 25 tcf, that’s nearly a 100-year supply, and it pegs the U.S. reserves as the largest in the world.

John B. Curtis, a geology professor at the Colorado School of Mines and the report’s principal author, said, “New and advanced exploration, well drilling and completion technologies are allowing us increasingly better access to domestic gas resources – especially unconventional gas – which, not that long ago, were considered impractical or uneconomical to pursue.”

The findings have shifted the focus onto natural gas as a possible transition fuel as we move from coal and oil to solar, wind, geothermal and other non-carbon sources of power. It couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.

Moving Towards a National Energy Plan: Slowly

As I’ve often said in previous articles, the best thing the government can do to move us away from fossil fuels is to provide funding and tax incentives to develop and use something else (and then get the hell out of the way). It appears as though Congress is trying to do just that with natural gas.

H.R. 1835, known as the “New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act of 2009,” amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to create jobs and encourage alternative energy investments.

Here are the highlights from www.gotrac.us on what this act does:

• An excise tax credit through 2027 for alternative fuels and motor vehicles involving compressed or liquefied natural gas (AMEX:LNG).

• An income tax credit through 2027 for vehicles powered by compressed or LNG.

• A new tax credit for the production of vehicles fueled by natural gas or LNG.

• A tax credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property expenditures for refueling property relating to compressed or LNG and allow an increased credit for such property.

• Requires 50% of all new vehicles purchased or placed in service by the U.S. government by December 31, 2014, to be capable of operating on compressed or LNG.

• Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to make grants to manufacturers of light and heavy-duty natural gas vehicles for the development of engines that reduce emissions, improve performance and efficiency, and lower cost.

Now before I get a dozen e-mails pointing out that natural gas is just a different fossil fuel, let me head them off. There’s no argument there.

However, it’s much cleaner burning, produces less carbon emissions and, most importantly, it’s found here in abundance. It’s a walk in the park to produce new cars and trucks that run on it, and convert older ones as well.

And if it helps free of the grip of rogue nations around the world in 10 years or less, then I’m all for it. We’ll all be better off economically, and we’ll all have greater peace of mind.

How do you play it? Take a look at Clean Energy Fuels Corporation (Nasdaq: CLNE), a provider of natural gas as a vehicle fuel, primarily for fleet use in the United States and Canada. It designs, builds and operates natural gas fueling stations, and provides financing for natural gas vehicles. It and others in the sector will undoubtedly benefit from this legislation when it’s passed.

Next week, I’m going to take a look at the state of the wind power industry, and why it’s currently in stall mode.

Good investing,

David Fessler

Source: The Pickens Plan: Where Are We One Year Later?

David Fessler says a fall in global demand is temporarily driving crude lower. But population and income growth will restore global demand for energy soon. This means the US will have to compete with emerging giants China and India for supplies.

David says the only long-term solution is to find cheaper alternative energy sources. When Congress realizes this shares in companies such as Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ:CLNE) and Vestas Wind Systems (OTC:VWSYF) take off.

This from Investment U:

Demand destruction – primarily in this country – is responsible for most of the drop in recent oil prices. In the first quarter of 2008, trucking industry analyst Donald Broughton estimates that 42,000 trucks, over 2% of the nation’s fleet, came off the nation’s highways. With nearly 1,000 trucking companies filing for bankruptcy, the demand for diesel fuel has been slashed.

But there’s nothing to suggest that this drop is anything more than temporary…

Many of those trucks that have been repossessed have been sold overseas to Eastern Europe and Russia, permanently removing them from the U.S. fleet. When the economy does eventually pick up, we’ll be faced with even higher transportation costs than we have now.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau suggests that we’ll be a nation of 439 million by 2050. That’s an increase of 44% from last year’s estimate of 303 million. (World figures are increasing at similar rates.)

As countries join the global economy and create infrastructure, there’s one thing everyone wants as soon as they can afford it – a car. And millions of new cars around the world will lead to skyrocketing oil prices as demand increases while supplies shrink.

The Bottom Line – Oil Prices Are Headed Higher

The bottom line is that long term, oil prices are headed higher, strictly on supply and demand fundamentals. Global demand destruction – if it occurs at all – will be a short-lived phenomenon.

Frankly, there are few viable, short-term solutions to significantly squelch the long-term demand for oil. And it could get ugly; countries with large oil reserves keeping more of it for themselves. They’ll ask more for it from those of us who want it. And want it, we do…

With only 4% of the world’s population, the United States is currently burning up 25% of the world’s oil supply. Nearly 70% of it must be imported. We’re competing with China, Russia and a host of other emerging nations whose demand for oil is rapidly increasing.

There are two ways for the United States to hedge against increasing world oil demand – and by extension higher prices.

First, we need a stronger dollar to keep our buying power strong. Second, the world needs an all-out effort to develop cheap, alternative fuels so we all use less oil. The world needs inexpensive energy to fuel the global economic growth engine.

Well the dollar is certainly heading in the right direction. The U.S. Dollar Index is up over 10% since mid-July. A strong dollar helps to drive oil and other commodities lower, as speculative investors – who bought crude as a hedge against inflation – reverse course and start dumping it to cut their losses.

And T. Boone Pickens has a plan that seems to be resonating with the American public: Use wind power to free up cheap natural gas for automobiles and trucks instead of oil. You can learn about it the Pickens Plan here. He believes that in the relatively short span of 10 years, we can reduce our foreign oil purchases by one-third.

The best way to invest depends on what kind of “investor” you are. Short-term traders who are dabbling in crude futures and certain oil stocks are experiencing what it’s like to take a trip to Vegas… but without the fun.

Following the T. Boone Pickens’ Energy Plan

If we take the long-term view, or we want to follow along with T. Boone Pickens’ clean energy plan, we have a number of choices. Here are a few:

• Clean Energy Fuels Corp (Nasdaq: CLNE) provides natural gas as an alternative fuel, primarily for commercial vehicle fleets here and in Canada. It will be a big player in any nationwide build-out of natural gas filling stations, or modifications to the 170,000 gas stations already out there.
• Vestas Wind Systems (OTC: VWSYF) is the largest manufacturer of wind turbines in the world. Its U.S. business is booming and while it already employs 1,220 people here, it expects that number to increase to over 4,000 by the end of 2010.

Expect both of these companies (and many other alternative energy suppliers) to soar when Congress finally gets its act together and approves long-term legislation in support of renewables.

Global demand for oil and energy is only increasing. While the short-term prices are down, the long-term trend is up. And it’ll be extremely profitable for investors prepared for it.

Source: Oil Prices: 2 Ways to Hedge Against Global Oil Demand

For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange added 1.24%, while the TSX Gold Index surged 10% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, rallied 2.8% with the advancing issuers actually outpacing the decliners by a 512 to 337 margin on volume of 125 million shares traded.

Uruguay Mineral Exploration (CVE:UME) cut 4.68 grams gold per tonne over 19.25 metres at the Arenal Deep target near the San Gregorio mine southern Uruguay. In the first quarter ended August 31, the company produced 16,439 ounces of gold by treating 335,832 tonnes grading 1.67 grams gold per tonne with recovery of 91.4%. The beaten down miner closed up C$0.05 at C$1.25.

It was a good session for shareholders of Energy Fuels (NASDAQ:CLNE) as the company reported that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management jointly issued a Record of Decision with a Finding of No Significant Impact for the company’s Whirlwind mine, which has surface facilities in Mesa county, Colorado, and additional mining claims in Grand county, Utah. Energy Fuels (TSE:EFR) ended the day up C$0.18 at C$0.61.

In the face of a market crumble, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE:POT) has increased its share repurchase program to 10%. The company ended the day up C$10.11 at C$172.11.

Shares of Odyssey Resources added C$0.08 to close at C$0.20 following news that Nassau Capital Management Partners acquired 5.2 million shares of Odyssey at a price of C$0.25 and now holds 5.2 million shares in the junior.

The junior board continues to trade at levels last seen in mid-2004 and this has many pundits calling it a major buying opportunity. We will see what Monday trading has in store.

Source: Resource Stock Roundup: Saturday, September 13th, 2008

Fortunately for Pickens, he has a plan to move away from volatile oil. It’s called the Pickens Plan. It involves converting US cars to run on natural gas instead of petroleum and devleoping a massive wind farm in Texas.

Floyd Brown at Investment U says Pickens has a history of being in the right place and the right time and profiting handsomely. Floyd has picked four stocks to help you follow Pickens’ lead into natural gas and wind energy…

T. Boone Pickens is a proponent of the much-debated peak oil theory. He believes the oil price shocks we have experienced this year are only the beginning. He sees much tighter supplies in the future.

“America is in a hole,” he told CNBC last month, “and it’s getting deeper every day. We import 70% of our oil at a cost of $700 billion a year – four times the annual cost of the Iraq war. I’ve been an oilman all my life, but this is one emergency we can’t drill our way out of. But if we create a new renewable energy network, we can break our addiction to foreign oil.”

“In 10 years, $5 trillion goes out of the country for oil. It’s nuts. It’s the greatest transfer of wealth from one area to another in the history of the world.”

Instead, he wants this money to stay in America – with a good portion of it going into his pocket.

His plan is simple. Cars need to be converted from crude oil and gasoline to compressed natural gas as soon as possible. And to replace the natural gas used in electrical generation, he advocates a giant wind farm stretching from Texas to North Dakota.

“America is the Saudi Arabia of wind,” he likes to say.

T. Boone Pickens Has An Energy Plan to Save Our Economy

To be sure, Pickens has an energy plan to save our economy – he is building the largest wind farm in America. It will generate as much clean electricity as two nuclear plants, and, best of all, with little negative effect on the environment.

His commitment to clean fuels has impressed the environmental community, prompting the Sierra Club’s director Carl Pope to say, “To put it plainly, T. Boone Pickens is out to save America.”

But don’t believe that he’s lost his focus on making money because he is in his 80s. “Money! First thing, it’s about money,” Pickens told Fast Company magazine in June.

“Of course, I’m also a good environmentalist. I can pass the saliva test. But I’m not going to go do a 4,000-megawatt wind farm for the environment first and money second. I’d rather go give money someplace else. You’re talking about $10 billion.” And what kind of return does he expect? “A minimum of 15%; it’ll probably be closer to 25%.”

Last year he also brought Clean Energy Fuels (Nasdaq: CLNE) public – a company that markets natural gas for vehicles. It designs, builds, finances and operates 170 fueling stations and supplies compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas. But what it doesn’t have is profits.

With Mr. Pickens owning 16 million shares, don’t expect that to slow this company down. Management is growing revenues at a rate of 25% per year.

I don’t have much taste for the shares of any company without positive earnings, such as Clean Energy Fuels. But the current downturn in natural gas prices has hit stocks in this sector hard. Today, a number of these gas stocks are cheap for the first time in over a year.

Natural Gas Stocks & Wind Power – The Pickens Plan

Two firms that specialize in natural gas exploration and production that have recently pulled back from elevated highs include:

• Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK), with a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of only 9.
• Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN), which has a P/E of 9.

In terms of wind power:

• General Electric (NYSE: GE) is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of wind turbines. With over 8,400 installed worldwide, it provides power generation capacity of more than 11,300 megawatts. GE currently trades at a very attractive P/E ratio of 13.5 and a 4% dividend yield. It pays you to hold its stock.
• FPL Group (NYSE: FPL) is the diversified utility and power generator that grew out of Florida Power and Light. It leads the nation in the development and operation of wind power. With more than 45 facilities located in 15 states, it has a generating capacity of more than 4,000 megawatts of electricity.

This represents approximately 35% of the nation’s wind-generated power.

There are many ways that our country is working to free itself from its energy shackles, and I don’t know if America will embrace the Pickens Plan above all others.

But T. Boone Pickens has a history of being in the right place at the right time, and profiting handsomely. By following in his footsteps and investing like him, you stand to make a bundle as well.

Source: The T. Boone Pickens Way: How To Supercharge Your Portfolio