Big wind’s Don Quixote, T. Boone Pickens, has seen some of the wind come out of his sails.  Pickens is scuttling his plan for a giant Texas wind farm and will now pursue several smaller wind projects, possibly in Texas and the Midwest.  Lack of financing, an abundance of cheap natural gas and lack of power grid infrastructure were key obstacles to the Pickens plan.

In related wind energy news, The American Wind Energy Association has release its latest wind energy progress report.  The report reflects some of Pickens’ dilemma: Wind Technology gets an A-, while Transmission and Integration come in with a C- (we know that’s really a D).  For more details take a take a look at the full AWEA 20% Report Card.  The “20%” refers to a recent Department of Energy Report that estimated that Wind Energy could make up 20% of the U.S. electrical supply by 2030.   Without stronger support from Washington and a major overhaul of the electrical grid, that goal remains firmly in doubt.