Written by Marc Courtenay

Friday, 19 September 2008

Governor Brian Schweitzer this week signed the Pickens Pledge, joining people across America who demand an end to our addiction to foreign oil. The Pickens Plan involves using natural gas to fuel vehicles and to work towards a giant initiative for wind energy across the USA.

“We must end our dependency on petro-dictators,” said Governor Brian Schweitzer. “We need American energy, produced by American workers, made right here at home.” Now we see another strong example of a political leader who "sees the 'green' light."

“Governor Schweitzer is a national leader in energy, I am honored to have him joining me in the fight to make energy independence the top priority of the next administration,” said T. Boone Pickens.

“Montanans have visited www.pickensplan.com in droves, and now with the support of their governor we can work with Washington together to reduce foreign oil dependency by at least 30% over the next decade.”

Governor Schweitzer said what he strongly agrees with in the Pickens Plan is its all-of-the-above approach to energy security, noting, “It is flexible enough to be adapted to all states and regions of the country.

"I support T. Boone Pickens in calling on the next President to develop immediately a comprehensive energy plan that reduces U.S. oil dependence and makes a massive investment in renewable energy.”

Pickens plan is embodied in his company Clean Energy Fuels (Nasdaq:CLNE). CLNE provides natural gas as an alternative fuel for vehicle fleets in the United States and Canada. It designs, builds, finances, and operates fueling stations and supplies compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas.

We understand the Pickens Plan has also been embraced by the leadership of natural gas producers like Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) and XTO Energy (NYSE:XTO).

The Montana governor's example will surely be emulated by other state leaders across the nation and shows what a mandate is developing nationwide about alternative and cleaner forms of energy.

You can learn more about the Pickens Plan at http://www.pickensplan.com/about/