T. Boone Pickens Full Of Hot Air As He Scraps Wind Farm Projects

T. Boone Pickens, who wowed lots of people with his plans for wind and natural gas production, has shown himself to be full of hot air.

He's scrapping his wind farm plans.

T. Boone Pickens has scuttled plans for a giant wind farm in Texas, partly out of difficulty with building transmission lines, the latest sign that efforts to rebuild the nation's electrical infrastructure have been marked by fits and starts.

Hurdles faced by the billionaire financier include lower natural-gas prices, which made power from wind less desirable as an alternative to gas-fired electric plants.

Financing is also tough to get nowadays, as alternative energy developers await key moves in Washington on tax breaks, renewable portfolio standards, and other programs. See full story.

He unveiled his plan a year ago against a backdrop of record-high oil and gas prices. He set his sights on building as much as 4,000 megawatts of wind power in Pampa, Texas -- an amount equivalent to the electricity made by four nuclear-power plants.

He wasn't getting transmission lines built in the area that he designated for his plans, the energy prices he counted on didn't materialize, and costs