“Big Oil” Man T. Boone Pickens (you can’t make this stuff up) is moving into the wind power market with plans to develop the world’s largest wind farm in the Texas panhandle. The wind power facility will produce 4,000 megawatts of electricity per year, enough to power more than 1,300,000 homes.

The 80 year old Pickens told NPR’s Living on Earth this past weekend:

“For a number of years I’ve watched the wind turbines develop - and I feel like it’s time for it. I think that oil has peaked at 85 million barrels in the world. We’ve got to develop other forms of energy - wind, I think solar will be next, and I hope I’m still around to be in the solar deal.”

T. Boone Pickens is not exactly a card carrying member of the Green Party, having grown up in the Texas oil business and sporting a resume that includes ownership of some major oil exploration companies as well as a widely publicized takeover attempt of Gulf Oil in in the 1980’s. He has, however, been outspoken on the issue of peak oil in recent years and is putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to finding alternative sources of energy for the future. The entrance of major investors like T. Boone Pickens into wind power signals the technology is quickly moving forward to satisfying the energy needs of millions of families with a completely clean, renewable energy resource.

You can takepart by learning more about renewable wind energy by logging onto the website of the American Wind Energy Association.

LINKS:

Fast Company: Texas Oil Tycoon Tackles Renewable Energy

MSNBC: Oil tycoon plans largest wind farm

The Energy Blog: Pickens Wind Farm to Get Underway