Danita Blackwood: And invisible for us, this is changing the US landscape and the way entrepreneurs power their enterprises—wind.
Ed Schock: I think this is manufacturing you the future because this is the industry of the future. Looking for alternative sources of energy is now going forward with some serious and I think wind energy is a tremendous alternative.
Danita Blackwood: Wind is fueling new businesses creating new jobs and it is still in its infancy as a power source. According to the US Department of Energy, the United States is the fastest growing wind power market in the world. The US wind energy industry has still 5244 megawatts of power expanding the nation’s total generated capacity by 45% in 2007 alone.
With increasing demands for alternatives and renewable energy sources one legendary entrepreneur is calling on small and mid-sized companies to do their part to meet the challenge.
T. Boone Pickens Jr.: And we’re importing almost 70% of our oil. That is totally unacceptable and it’s dangerous for the country and I had a plan to how we could reduce that by a third.
Danita Blackwood: Pickens, a veteran oil and gas entrepreneur is putting millions behind the power of wind. He cites Stanford University study plunging there is enough wind power worldwide to satisfy global demand seven times over even if only 20% could be captured. Pickens first wind facility is based in Texas.
He says building wind facilities in the corridor stretches to the Texas Panhandle to North Dakota to produce 20% of electricity for the United States in a cost of $1 trillion. It would take another $200 billion to build the capacity to transmit that energy to cities and towns but it’s a one-time cost.
And compared to the $700 billion the U.S. spends on foreign oil every year. Pickens says it’s a bargain. He’s calling on other business owners to help him harness the wind.
T. Boone Pickens Jr.: You can go to PickensPlan.com website and you’ll get all the information there that you need but if it’s a shot of information just ask for and we can get you more but we signed up thousands and thousands of people on this idea and we need an army of people of foregoing an influence anything to happen in Washington and I appreciate your help.
Danita Blackwood: Business owners don’t need to build a wind farm to get involved. Big bucks retailers have begun selling wind turbines because many states have the potential for reliable wind power generation. There are a number of incentives and investment tax credits for entrepreneurs interested in renewable energy.
Extension of tax credits through the year 2016 is expected to encourage more business owners to get involved. Wind is creating thousands of new jobs for Americans.
Parthiv Amin: What we are doing is we are creating manufacturing jobs that are contributing positive to the environment. Now, if the economic perspectives are also for the climate and since we have a leader in the industry we feel like we are making a difference.
Today, rain is only a small portion of total energy consumption in US, 1.2% of all the energy to consume but the DOE reports that the next several years by 2030, 20% will come for less. That’s almost a 20 X growth.
Danita Blackwood: In 2008, California lived in Asian wind power development with taxes coming in at a close second. From New York to Colorado, there are many other states that have powerful potential for harnessing the wind. I'm Danita Blackwood reporting for sbtv.com. Small business is our only business.
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