The T. Boone Pickens Plan

You’ve probably seen those T. Boone Pickens natural gas TV ads. Like you, I wondered why. I spent several hours of research to find out just what T. Boone was up to. As one of those evil capitalists he was obviously after increasing his wealth. Here’s what I discovered from one source, The Alternative Energy Speculator. Please read my commentary at the end of this article excerpt. It’s about a piece describing Pickens and his efforts I read in one liberal newspaper. It reveals just how wrong the entire liberal establishment is about wealth, taxes, investment, profits, and how these harm or benefit Americans.

Dear Reader,

If you follow the energy industry at all, you've undoubtedly heard of the Pickens Plan the massive effort by Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens that calls for an estimated $1 trillion investment to displace electricity currently produced from natural gas with clean wind power. The Pickens Plan would allow the excess natural gas capacity to be used to power trucks and even cars. What's more, California has already set forth a ballot initiative that would allow the state to invest in the burgeoning market for natural gas-fueled vehicles. The measure, which currently faces no opposition, would free up $5 billion to fast-track the deployment of a million natural gas vehicles on California's roads.

That's all very interesting, yes, but why am I telling you about it today? Well, you see, T. Boone Pickens is no dummy. He may very well believe in the environmental benefits of his plan but he also stands to take enormous profits from it. And you can follow his lead.

To Your Best Days,

Paul Amos

Associate Director, HIS

“One undeniable beneficiary of the Pickens Plan would be Pickens himself. He has bet $12 billion on a massive new wind farm in rural Texas and his BP Capital hedge fund is heavily invested in the natural gas industry.”

-The Guardian, UK

How T. Boone Pickens and The “Pickens Plan” Can Make You Rich

Dear Reader,

T. Boone Pickens recently revealed a plan that he believes could be the only real solution to reducing our dependence on foreign oil. I know, that's a pretty bold statement to make. But this is T. Boone Pickens we're talking about--the former Texas oilman who's worth about $3billion...and just so happens to be the 117th richest person in the United States!

I can assure you, Pickens didn't become a self-made billionaire by being on the wrong side of the energy markets. So when he says he's found the only real solution to reducing our dependence on foreign oil, you might want to see exactly what he's talking about.

The Pickens Plan:

A $1 Trillion Transition

You may have only recently seen the ads for the Pickens Plan. But the fact is, this thing's been building momentum for a few years now. You see, Pickens Plan calls for an estimated $1 trillion investment to displace electricity currently produced from natural gas with clean wind power. This allows the excess natural gas capacity to power cars and trucks.

It's an excellent “transitional” plan that can help alleviate hundreds of billions of dollars currently spent on oil, while creating thousands of U.S. jobs.

But the truth is, this “transitional” plan didn't begin with Pickens. It actually began in California, with a little-known “Clean Air Action Plan” that Pickens capitalized on the moment it launched. Back in November of 2006--in an effort to drastically reduce pollution--the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles adopted a clean air action plan. Within three years, this action plan requires the ports to:

Achieve a 47% decrease in diesel particulate matter (PM) emissions from port-related activity (shipping AND trucking).

Cut smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) by 45%

Achieve a 52% reduction of sulfur oxides (Sox).

Now understand, this is an area where more than 16,800 Class-8 tractor trailers are the only machines strong enough to transport the heavy containers to their destinations. And they transport a lot of them. In fact, combined, these two ports move more than $260 billion worth of traded goods per year. And that number is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2025. With that kind of money in play, you know there's a major opportunity for investors. And T. Boone Pickens was the first to the party.

You see, in order to meet the new emission-reduction requirements, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the state Air Resources Board and the EPA called for the replacement of more than 5,300 trucks with clean-burning Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) trucks.

LNG Fast Facts:

As a liquid, LNG is not explosive. LNG vapor will only explode in and enclosed space within the flammable range of 5-15%. [It must be kept in insulated or vacuum bottle containers as it is very cold. It is kept cold bythe constant vaporization of the liquid in the containers. The less highly insulated the container—the faster the LNG evaporates.]

Benefits of LNG in transportation applications:

**LNG is produced both worldwide and domestically at a relatively low cost and is cleaner burning than diesel fuel. Since LNG has a higher storage density, it is a more viable alternative to diesel fuel than compressed natural gas for heavy duty applications.

**In addition, LNG in heavy-duty natural gas engines achieves significantly lower NOx and particulate emission levels than diesel.

Essentially, they decided to go with LNG because it could help the ports meet their reduction requirements--but without having to add a hefty price tag to the transition. And guess who got an early piece of that action?

You got it! The one and only, T. Boone Pickens. Pickens owns 40% of a company called Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ:CLNE). This is a company that provides natural gas for vehicle fleets in the U.S. and Canada. It actually designs, builds, finances, and operates the fueling stations too.

Bck in July, 2007, the stock was trading around $13.24 a share. By October of 2007, the stock hit $19.60 a share--giving a gain of more than 48% in less than 4 months.

You see, although Clean Energy Fuels Corp. supplies the LNG, someone still has to supply the engines that run on the stuff. After all, it's not as if GM and Ford are cranking these things out. They can barely stay in business as it is. But there is a small Canadian company (of which 12 percent is actually owned by Pickens) that has designed what could be the most advanced, efficient engine on the planet. And it's powered by LNG. In fact, it's so revolutionary it was awarded the 2007 Industry Innovation Award for alternative fuel trucks.

Bottom line: This engine and this fuel source, which is cheaper and cleaner than diesel, has proved to be the best stop-gap available that can handle the heavy workload, wear and mileage required by the ports and the drivers.

It doesn't hurt that Clean Energy Fuels Corp. is already supplying the infrastructure in the way of LNG fuel and fueling stations too. But the best part is, this engine can actually be swapped with existing diesel truck engines that are already in service. So no need to purchase brand new trucks!

In fact... This Revolutionary Engine Could Actually Save Truck Drivers and Companies Over $353.8 Million per Year! Let's face it...everything comes down to the bottom line. And that's why this particular engine manufacturer is going to make investors an absolute fortune. You see, as I write this, diesel fuel in the port areas in California is already well over $4.96 a gallon...and steadily on the rise. And with the skyrocketing costs of fuel set to go even higher in the near future, truckers are desperately looking for ways to save on energy costs. For them, even a drop of $0.05 gallon would save each truck, traveling 80,000 miles per year and getting an average of six miles per gallon - over $650.

But this engine has proved even better. Once retro-fitted to a current semi, the new engine could save over $21,000 a year in fuel costs! And with more than 16,800 of them servicing the port area, companies and drivers (depending on how the fuel arrangement is met) are looking at a total savings of more than $352.8 million per year. With that kind of money staying in their pockets, it came as no surprise when, just this past January, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach approved a $1.6 billion Clean Truck Superfund.

Since the announcement of the $1.6 billion “superfund,” this little engine manufacturer has watched its share price skyrocket more than 96.2% And this is in the wake of one of the most volatile markets in recent memory! Now that the Pickens Plan is in full swing, we're expecting share prices to rise least another 143%

Check it out... Ports of Los Angeles and Long beach announcement to approve a new $1.6 billion Clean Truck Superfund. The fund will assist replacing many of the 16,800 Class 8 trucks serving the ports with LNG-powered vehicles. The ports have also introduced a new progressive ban that will remove all pre-2007 trucks by 2012. This company’s LNG fuel system is the only alternative fuel technology currently qualified for financial support under the ports’ Clean Truck program, within the next 8 to 10months.

In fact, even retail giant Wal-Mart, which operates one of the nation's largest fleets, has joined this company in their natural gas revolution... having picked up four test vehicles to measure the money saved by the switch.

While Wal-Mart, the leader in low cost providers, is claiming the move is for “Clean-Energy Purposes,”the reality is... they're looking at saving several million dollars a year in transportation costs. And as more LNG fueling stations appear across the country (thanks to the Pickens Plan), and with the proven environmental AND cost savings of the switch--investors are now lining up for their share of what this little-known company is about deliver.

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Here’s a revelation of just how wrong the entire liberal establishment is about wealth, taxes, investment, profits, and how these harm or benefit Americans.

I just read a full page article about T. Boone Pickens in a typical liberal newspaper. From the article’s attitude and description one would think Pickens was the worst kind of scoundrel. They wrote disparagingly of his wealth, the profits he made in oil, and how now he’s “cornering the market” on new sources of energy. These include wind and LNG. The article is just another example of the left using class envy to inflame hatred against successful entrpreneurial capitalists and make “profits” a dirty word especially when they tie it in with “excessive.” Liberals just don’t get it. They have no concept of how profits and wealth turn into jobs and economic prosperity and how taxes result in lost jobs and economic depression—“but they mean well.”

The Pacific tigers get it. The Irish get it. Even the Georgians get it. The Indians get it and the Chinese get it in spades. All have realized the fact: that “profits” and “profitability” provide job opportunities and build economic abundance, that low taxes encourage savings and investment to fund those projects that create jobs and generate more wealth, and that in the current worldwide economy, the capital to fund these projects goes where it gets the best return. This is why lowering taxes always results in economic success and higher tax revenue and raising taxes always results in a recessive economy and lower tax revenue. This is so pervasive and exceptions are so rare it is virtually axiomatic.

Why then don't the liberals get it? Why are the current liberal Democrats planning to double the capital gains tax and rescind the Bush tax cuts? I find it hard to believe they are so ignorant of reality. There are but three possibilities. 1) They know these facts, but believe voters are so stupid they would sacrifice thousands of jobs just to hurt those rascally wealthy people by electing liberals. 2) They are so ignorant or stupid that they don’t know these facts. 3) They know the truth and want to use taxes to “get even with America” and bring us to our economic knees.

The T. Boone Pickens example - While the newspaper article denigrated Pickens for his wealth in comparison with so many poor Americans (those dirty profits from oil), it never mentioned how many good jobs his companies provided, how many families his investments have fed, clothed, and housed, how many young people his enterprises have sent to college, how many seniors are enjoying retirement after working for him, or how much he paid in taxes. How about his wind farm? This was a financial risk that provided jobs for many people and environmentally favorable energy for Americans. Why didn’t the paper give him accolades for his efforts for the environment? Was it because he dares to make profits from his efforts? I wonder how long that paper would be in business if it didn’t make a profit? Newspapers are dying all over America and the reasons given include low circulation, high labor costs, loss of advertising, and the Internet. The real reason is lack of profit. None of these businesses (newspapers are a business) would go out of business if they were profitable. The reasons given for newspapers dying are actually what caused them to become unprofitable.

Profits - what do they do?

1. They enable companies (that’s organized groups of workers) to expand, grow, and create jobs.
2. They enable companies to provide their employees with better pay and benefits.
3. They enable companies to access investment and loans to expand.
4. They enable companies to pay taxes - (Exxon paid 28 million for 2007. That’s as much as the entire lower half of all individual American taxpayers combined.)
5. They provide stockholders (owners) a financial return on their investment.

This begs the question, would all you who are castigating profits work without pay? Profits are to business what a pay check is to a worker. Why isn’t a paycheck subject to the same disdain as profits.

So kudos to T. Boone and all the other successful capitalists who among other things, provide nearly all the jobs, make almost all the investments, create and develop the technologies, and build the American economy, while paying for most of our bloated, inefficient, and self-serving government. They are the ones who really build our country, not those self-serving, egotistical politicians with their strutting, posturing, and under-the-table grabbing for cash. There was much ado about the famous “bridge to nowhere” in Ketchikan, Alaska. Why didn’t Ted Kennedy’s “Big dig” in Boston bring out some of the same objections? It was certainly in the same category as it merely moved four miles of a surface freeway underground while not improving anything but the view above ground. It also cost more than 16 billion dollars, many times the cost of the “bridge to nowhere.” In spite of the comments of its detractors, the “bridge to nowhere” did have a positive result. It would have gained sorely needed access to nearby land for expansion of Ketchikan. I’ve been there and seen the possibilities first hand. T. Boone should look into funding that bridge. Under the right circumstances it could be a money maker. Maybe Sarah could convince T. Boone to get the job done.

If the Obama crowd has their way and implements their announced tax changes, the resulting flight of capital from America to elsewhere in the world will make the flight of manufacturing jobs of the past forty years look like a trickle. The resulting depression will make the Jimmy Carter years and even the great depression look like a day in the park.