The Washington Examiner has published an editorial marking some interesting cross-pollination going on between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and billionaire crackpot-turned-climate warrior T. Boone Pickens, whose plan to build wind farms throughout the plains-state corridor has been getting massive airplay and quite a bit of traction among the Washington power class. He's met personally with John McCain and Barack Obama in the last week, and has been pressing the flesh among legislators and other powerful folks since rolling out his platform in July. He makes a reasoned case for public and private investment in renewables (the natural gas-in-cars boondoggle aside) and, it seems, Pelosi has favored the pitch for years:
[I]n May 2007, Pelosi invested between $100,001 and $250,000 to
purchase public common stock in Pickens’ Clean Energy Fuels Corporation
(CLNE). Pelosi's CLNE investment was first highlighted by Eric Odom on
the #don'tgo blog.
CLNE
is a cog in Pickens’ $6 billion plan to build a massive wind farm in
west Texas and to switch millions of vehicles on American roads from
gasoline to natural gas. Pelosi’s CLNE purchase is listed on her most
recent congressional personal financial disclosure form, which can be
viewed at Opensecrets.org.
A search of
Pelosi’s official web site found no announcement of the investment in
the Pickens operation. A request to the Speaker’s official spokesman
yesterday for information about the investment went unanswered.
Coincidentally, Pelosi’s investment came the same month as the House
passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, which she
hailed as making the Congress over which she helps preside “the most
open and honest in history.” There are numerous ways Pelosi could
provide assistance to CLNE and Pickens, including helping secure
federal tax advantages. Pickens expects at least 15 percent profits on
the wind farm and associated initiatives. At CLNE’s $14 per share
value, Pelosi appears to own between 7,000 and 17,000 shares.
Maybe I need a larger microscope, but I don't see any actual wrongdoing here--and "helping secure federal tax advantages" for renewables like wind and solar is something Pelosi has supported for ages--and is, in fact a fine idea that would lift all boats in the newer industries, not just CLNE's. I'd call it a smart investment--but I'm not the Speaker of the House. Pelosi, who's also one of the richest members of Congress, should answer to the conflict of interest, and if she does divest from Pickens, should at least draw attention to the market-based approach that will bring these industries to scale.
Adding to the intrigue is this story out of today's NYTimes, in which renewable energy has prompted lawless, There Will Be Blood-type skirmishing over land permits and local rights in upstate New York. Perhaps this calls for revisiting the adage--power corrupts, wind power corrupts...breezily? Read the whole Confessore piece for yourself.
--Dayo Olopade