3 August 2009
United States: Wind sector takes a battering
ENERGY magnate T Boone Pickens' decision to postpone plans to develop a large wind-farm project in Texas reflects continuing uncertainty in the country's wind industry, where growth has been stunted by the recession. Pickens has spent millions of dollars promoting his plan for new energy projects, including a proposed $10bn investment in a 4 gigawatt (GW) wind farm in the Texas panhandle. But now he says funding and grid connectivity problems have made a project on that scale impractical. "Transmission issues and problems with capital markets make that unfeasible at this point," Pickens said last month. He also cited lower natural gas prices as another complication for renewables developers.
Also in this section
9 January 2026
A shift in perspective is needed on the carbon challenge, the success of which will determine the speed and extent of emissions cuts and how industries adapt to the new environment
2 January 2026
This year may be a defining one for carbon capture, utilisation and storage in the US, despite the institutional uncertainty
23 December 2025
Legislative reform in Germany sets the stage for commercial carbon capture and transport at a national level, while the UK has already seen financial close on major CCS clusters
15 December 2025
Net zero is not the problem for the UK’s power system. The real issue is with an outdated market design in desperate need of modernisation
