Check out Boone’s interview by Jim Cramer on “Mad Money” (on CNBC) yesterday:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/34959130/

Boone says his plan is to replace diesel 18-wheelers and buses and only mentions them, not autos. He says again (I forgot about this) that he sees CGN only as a transition fuel. He also explains why he’s scaling back wind power for now. Boone says he expects congress to have a bill (I guess he means introduce a bill, not pass one, much less have Obama sign one) by Memorial Day 2010.

BTW Cramer supports the Picken’s Plan.

If you use a CNG generator as a way to power the electricity that is fine, though if possible I would rather see LNG as the fuel for the generator. What I have reservations about is using CNG as a primary fuel for lightweight passenger vehicles. If you develop electrical systems that allows different inputs into it either as a generator or as a secondary energy to fuel battery drive that is the point to diversify energy use and allow for innovation and advancements from these secondary inputs. Also with some types of natural gas you need pipe infrastructure. We would need to spend billions on that as taxpayers and to justify the costs lobbyist along with Congress would try get auto manufactures to ramp up natural gas powered vehicles.

I also doubt that Pickens can gain enough government support to minimize the first wave of EV’s. What they can do is minimize the role of government in long-term funding or mandates for EV’s. What others want to do is minimize the 3rd or 4th generation of EV’s which could have mass public appeal and reduce lobbying interests for natural gas in cars, E85, offshore drilling, ect… If incentives were in place for distributing liquid natural gas and subsidies for new Semi’s that use LNG in the next energy bill or transportation bill, I see no need for Pickens and his investors to scare people.

I haven’t kept up w/Pickens, so that is why I wrote he’s pushing “*primarily* pushing CGN for semi rigs/18-wheelers”. Last I heard/read, that was his focus, so while I’m sure he’s not against CGN cars and may well be for them, I haven’t recently heard he’s focusing on them. Plus, with the momentum of PHEV/EREV/EVs, I doubt whether he’d be able to twist the entire US auto market to do what he wants.

What do you think of my idea of a Chevy Volt w/a CNG generator, would you be against that? Should be extremely low carbon IMO.

The ultimate problem is that we are *dependent* on foreign sources of energy. If our suppliers don’t like our foreign or domestic policies, they can strangle our economy. Sure, if they overplay their hand that can boomerang back to hit them w/a worldwide depression — as has happened — driving down both demand and prices. But once we recover, if we don’t start down the road to independence, the noose is still around our necks, and OPEC (Venezuela/Russia/whoever) will be more than happy to tighten it once again.

Different note: w/a more compact Li ion battery pack, I wonder if a hybrid CNG Honda Civic GX possible? Or, since we’re dreaming, a Chevy Volt w/a EEStor ultracap and CGN powered generator?

In case you aren’t familiar w/it, you should read about *hydraulic* hybrids. UPS has started testing them and they make sense for garbage trucks, school buses, delivery vehicles and the like. IIRC, they are more efficient than electric hybrids.

In interviews last year, Pickens made his intentions to push CNG/LNG into passenger vehicle markets, unless things have changed this time around, he still has the same intentions, as he has not ruled out this option. So the point is that it is not out of the reach for Pickens and others to extend this lucrative business proposal to passenger vehicles as the second part of their strategy. Eg. forcing automakers to add at least 1 natural gas vehicle to their yearly lineup of vehicles. Start small, then expand as we have seen with the ridiculous legislation from the ethanol crowd. So I don’t disagree with you but look closer at the plan and you will see the flexibility into passenger vehicles and hence my concern that this will not be much different from our current petroleum distribution/market and our current security problems with petro in the long-term.