A new wind-power blade manufacturing plant that will create an estimated 1,000 jobs is in the works, according to Dallas-based Tang Energy. The company is gearing up to supply blades for a $1.5 billion Texas wind farm that was unveiled last month by U.S. and Chinese investors. Today’s announcement is only the latest indication of the many positive effects on the U.S. economy of developing domestic energy sources.

U.S. Renewable Energy Group (led by Dallas investor Cappy McGarr), A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd. of Shenyang, China, and Cielo Wind Power LP of Austin plan to build a wind farm capable of generating more than 600 megawatts of electricity on 36,000 acres of land. According to the Dallas Morning News, the project calls for 240 Chinese-made turbines and 720 blades, each 157 feet long. Most of the wind farm would be financed by Chinese investors, but the developers say they’ll ask the U.S. government to cover 30 percent of the $1.5 billion cost.

“Until now, we have made blades only in China, sold blades there, and imported only profits,” Tang CEO Patrick Jenevein III told the newspaper. “Now we’ve got a start to actually deliver blades into Texas, so effectively we’ll need to build a factory in the U.S.”

Site selection is already under way.

T Boone Pickens Buys Hess Corp., Sandridge Energy Inc, Mcmoran Exploration Co., Transocean Inc., Forest Oil Corp. – Guru Focus – 11/17/09

Pickens Increases Holdings in Natural Gas Producers – Tulsa World – 11/17/09

Pickens Predicts $100 crude in 2010, $300 by 2020 – HeatingOil.com – 11/16/09

MARKET WATCH: Economic Gains, Weak Dollar Boost Energy Prices – Oil & Gas Journal Online – 11/17/09

Exxon Chief: Weak Dollar Drives Oil Higher – MoneyNews.com – 11/17/09

Talking Turkey with T. Boone Pickens – Calgary Herald – 11/14/09

Chesapeake CEO: Finding Natural Gas Support Not Easy, But Necessary – Fort Worth Business Press – 11/13/09

Different Approaches Unite Green Reformers – The UTD Mercury – 11/16/09

Reversal of Fortune in Iraq Oil Fields – The National – 11/14/09

Pickens’ BP Capital Bought 1.04M Shares Of Sandridge In 3Q – Dow Jones – 11/16/09

Pickens: $300 Oil is Still On Its Way – BNET – 11/13/09

Gordon Currie on Where to Invest in Energy Right Now – Seeking Alpha – 11/16/09

Oil Falls to Four-Week Low on Larger-Than-Expected Supply Gain – Bloomberg – 11/12/09

How does an 81-year-old inspire a nation to kick the imported oil habit while running a hedge fund, writing a book, and giving speeches from coast to coast? That’s the question Meredith Land at NBC5 in Dallas wanted answered. So she spent a day with Boone - in the gym, on his jet, at Oklahoma State for the Pickens Plan Town Hall Meeting, and at one of his many speeches. In addition, Meredith spoke with some of his closest confidantes as well as medical experts to explore the mystery of what makes T. Boone tick. Here are her answers.

The matrix of the world’s energy supplies, distribution channels, usage patterns and pricing mechanisms has never been as complex as it is today. One person or group can have a massive impact on the price of oil or gas by the simple turn of a valve, in a remote area thousands of miles away from the intended destination. The power of these seven is measured not just in petro-dollars, but in the ability to change–for better or worse–the fundamental nature of the energy supply chain.

No. 1: Abdullah bin Abdulaziz

King, Saudi Arabia

As the world’s largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia is the lead camel in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) caravan. When oil prices dipped down to $40 a barrel, Saudi Arabia was vocal in its call for $75 oil–meaning the 12 OPEC nations would agree to limit production forcing the prices of oil to that level. During October, oil was back at $80 a barrel. No other individual in the petro-world has the influence of King Abdullah and his oil ministers.

No. 2: Barack Obama

President, United States of America

The U.S. uses nearly a quarter of the world’s oil with 4% of its population. President Obama can end 40 years of increasing dependence on foreign oil by putting his stamp of approval on the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act (or NAT GAS Act) which is making its way through the House and Senate. The NAT GAS Act promotes the use of natural gas powered vehicles through a combination of tax credits and by requiring the federal government to dramatically increase the size of its natural gas powered fleet. Unlike other legislative initiatives, the NAT GAS Act has bipartisan support in both chambers.

No. 3: The New Energy Army

Activists, the Pickens Plan

More than 1.6 million Americans have signed on to support my Pickens Plan, which aims to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, primarily through massive investment in wind power and reallocation of our natural gas resources to power our vehicles. Through their e-mails, phone calls and visits to the offices of their congressmen and senators, the so-called New Energy Army, speaking with one voice, has helped make foreign oil dependence a major piece of the American legislative and political discussion.

No. 4: Dr. Fatih Birol

Chief Economist, International Energy Agency

Fatih Birol is the chief economist of the International Energy Agency. When he says things like, “the world would need to find the equivalent of four times the crude oil reserves now held by Saudi Arabia to maintain current production plus six Saudi Arabias if it is to keep up with the expected increase in demand between now and 2030,” the world sits up and takes notice.

No. 5: Terrorists

One of the issues surrounding energy is that a relatively small group of terrorists can have an enormous impact on availability and distribution. As an example, groups such as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta in Nigeria have demonstrated that the entire global energy system is so finely balanced that it can be materially impacted by one well-placed bomb in a far corner of the world. The War on Terror is not just about airliners and commuter trains; it is just as much about oil supplies and transmission lines.

No. 6: Wen Jiabao

Premier, People’s Republic of China

Nothing is likely to have as much impact on the world price of oil as the industrial growth in China. China’s one billion-plus population has made it clear they want a better (more Western) lifestyle, and that will be fueled by oil. The Chinese have spent over $100 billion in the last three years buying oil resources around the world, which is impacting what the value of oil in the ground is worth.

No. 7: Vladimir Putin

Prime Minister, Russia

Putin is an aggressive nationalist and will continue to use his country’s vast energy resources as a weapon. Given what he did last winter when he shut off natural gas supplies to much of Western Europe in an argument over pricing with Ukraine, it is clear that Vladimir Putin can, single-handedly, change the world’s energy equation at any time for any reason.

To read the Online version at Forbes.com, click HERE

– The Pickens Team

T. Boone Pickens Picks The World’s Seven Most Powerful In Energy – Forbes – 11/11/09

Texas Oil Baron Sees Gas as Game Changer – Calgary Herald – 11/11/09

America is Saudi Arabia of Gas – Pickens – United Press International – 11/10/09

Natural Gas Autos Can Help – Huffington Post – 11/10/09

Inside the Mind of T. Boone Pickens – NBC Dallas-Fort Worth – 11/11/09

Whistleblower: IEA Oil Forecast Is Bunk – MoneyNews.com – 11/10/09

5 Stocks Approaching Greatness – Motley Fool – 11/10/09

Fuel Systems Solutions (FSYS) – Cabot Wealth Advisory – 11/9/09

Oil Futures Touching $100 a Barrel – MoneyNews.com – 11/10/09

Mixed Results for Clean Energy – Orange County Business Journal – 11/9/09

Pickens: Natural Gas Autos Can Help – Roll Call – 11/9/09

Natural Gas Should be the Vehicle Fuel of the Immediate Future – Grand Junction Sentinel – 11/6/09

Gas is a natural in T. Boone’s plan – Huntsville Times – 11/9/09

Pickens Plans Canada Energy Fund – Globe and Mail – 11/6/09

Readers sound off on Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year – Dallas Morning News Blog – 11/9/09

Support Climate Change Legislation – Detroit Lakes Tribune – 11/6/09

In Downtown, It’s Fun to Go to the YMCA – Dallas Morning News – 11/6/09

T. Boone Pickens to Launch Canadian Investment Fund Focused on Energy – The Canadian Press – 11/6/09

Railroads & Windmills: Berkshire’s ‘Green’ Bets – Wall Street Journal - 11/9/09

T. Boone Pickens Pushes his Energy Plan to Packed House at UT-Dallas – Peagasus News – 11/6/09

Briefly: “Pickens Offers Energy Fund in Canada” and More News – Advisor.CA – 11/6/09

BMO Unveils T. Boone Pickens Energy Fund – Investment Executive – 11/8/09

T Boone Pickens Plans Energy Fund – Emii.com – 11/9/09

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dallas - November 9, 2009 -In his eleventh consecutive monthly update on the level of foreign oil imports in the U.S., energy expert T. Boone Pickens said that based on the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. imported 60 percent of its oil, or 350 million barrels in October 2009, sending approximately $26.5 billion, or $ 594,359 per minute, overseas to foreign governments.

“America’s dependence on foreign oil continues unabated and uninterrupted” said Pickens. “Month after month the oil import trends continue and we have yet to truly do anything about it. But, there is a solution that uses a domestic resource to make a real difference. All that is needed is for our leaders in government to embrace natural gas and pass the NAT GAS Act. America is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. It’s time for us to use this abundant resource to end the cycle of foreign oil dependency and addiction that is making us less safe and more economically insecure.”

Pickens continued, “I’ve said many times that natural gas is the ideal bridge fuel for transportation. Smart use of our vast domestic natural gas resources can immediately reduce our dependence on foreign oil and buy us time to develop additional resources like fuel cells, batteries and hydrogen. With new drilling techniques and technology giving us access to the incredible reserve of natural gas contained in the shale fields, we have more than 100 years supply of natural gas.”

The NAT GAS Act of 2009, H.R. 1835, was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 1. The Senate version of this bill, S. 1408, was introduced on July 8 as a bipartisan bill by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT).

Pickens continued, “With so many benefits to using our own natural gas, the NAT GAS Act is not just good public policy, it is critical public policy. Americans should call their government leaders today and tell them you want true energy reform that uses natural gas.”

Since January 2009, the U.S. has imported more than 3.6 billion barrels of oil. A study released in June by the Potential Gas Committee, a group of academics and industry specialists supported by the Colorado School of Mines, estimates that we have more than 2,000 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, the only available source that could immediately replace foreign oil as a transportation fuel.

– The Pickens team

Compressed Natural-Gas Cabs Now Fly 1st Class at D/FW Airport, Cutting to Front of Taxi Lines – Dallas Morning News – 11/6/09

Importing Oil, Money Hurts U.S. – Chicago Sun-Times – 11/5/09

T. Boone Pickens: Weening U.S. Off Foreign Oil a Security Issue – Naples Daily News – 11/3/09

T. Boone Pickens – KVII – 11/3/09

Unnatural Gas – McCook Daily Gazette – 11/3/09

And On the Seventh Day, the Lord Made Policy – The Daily O’Collegian – 11/3/09

Voice of the Future – The Daily O’Collegian – 11/3/09

LCCC Offers Green Degree, Hosts Green Jobs Day – The Chronicle-Telegram – 11/4/09