Tuesday, May 10, 2011

"Conservatives blast Pickens' plan for seeking new subsidies" (CLNE)

There is going to be a trade to the upside in Mr. Pickens' Clean Energy Fuels.
Currently down fiddy-cent at $15.15 the stock has come off the early April highs above $17.40.
Since Nancy Pelosi already owns the stock one tell would be if Harry Reid were to show up on the shareholder list when the bill advances.
From the Dallas Morning News via BusinessWeek:
T. Boone Pickens has no shortage of advocates for his plan to switch America's trucks to run on natural gas.


But as Pickens amasses prominent supporters for his $5 billion plan, including President Barack Obama, he's also attracting some vocal opponents. In recent weeks, a scattering of conservative groups and lawmakers have criticized the plan's subsidies for natural gas vehicles. Some have called it an earmark for Pickens and his natural gas interests.

The criticism threatens to water down support in the Republican-controlled House for legislation that would implement the plan. With the GOP focused on cutting the deficit, any proposal to spend more money, either directly or through tax breaks, gets a scrubbing in Congress.

In mid-March, a coalition of low-tax organizations, including Americans for Tax Reform and the Club for Growth, told Congress they opposed any new energy subsidies.

"I think you'll see the conservative movement will pretty much get united against this," said Myron Ebell, an energy policy specialist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

"If they go forward with this bill, there is no hope," Ebell said. "How can you argue against the ethanol subsidy if you think natural gas should get one?"...MORE
Our October 2010 post, "T. Boone Pickens-- Score!: EPA Proposes Carbon Dioxide Regulations for Trucks, Buses, Pickups (CLNE)" is a pretty good overview [he said modestly -ed] including a link to the Aspen Ideas Festival's version of Boone and Ted's (Turner) Excellent Adventure