Texas: We're Not Just For Oil Anymore

T. Boone Pickens has made billions of dollars in the oil industry, first working for Phillips, then as owner of Mesa and finally through a series of mergers and aquisitions. While black gold has been mighty good to his pocketbook, Pickens has been making a lot of noise the last few years in something that is popularly seen as decidedly un-Texan: Wind power.

In 2006, Texas passed California as the nation's leading producer of electricity from wind power. We're continuing to grow our wind power faster than any other state as well. Texas is also ranked first in the nation for solar resource potential. While development of solar power has lagged behind development of wind power, Texas is uniquely placed to go from the cultural standard bearer of the oil boom to cultural standard bearer of a clean, renewable energy boom.