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Credit crunch defines as a sudden reduction in the general availability of loans or credit, or a sudden increase in the cost of obtaining loans from banks, is not just hurting the banks and the real state market.

T. Boone Pickens, a billionaire and wind energy enthusiast is having trouble financing his high profile 400MW wind farm. The proposed wind farm in Texas has a hefty $10 and $12 billion price tag.

Though, we are used to hearing about climbing energy costs, the price of natural gas is actually down. The nation’s electricity generation for natural gas accounts is 20%. The energy sector is suspecting that the financial crisis may result in a global reduction in energy demand.

Thus, Pickens’ plan calls for replacing natural gas with wind energy for electricity generation, while converting vehicles to run off natural gas. The natural gas currently used for electricity that would be used for transportation and America could wean itself off foreign oil.

According to him, “ It is all going to be put off because we have got the credit crunch. Natural gas prices are down so, you are going to price the wind off natural gas power. And right now the natural gas is so cheap that there will be no new wind deals until natural gas price gets back up.”

“There is a lot of capital needed to move these things forward and it looks that it may be extremely difficult in these current conditions. And if crude drifts back down to the $50 -$60 range, it is going to take a lot of the incentive away to shift your energy paradigm.” said Richard Murray, director of the University of Houston Center for Public Policy.

Now, the price of gas is below $3 a gallon in most markets, Americans are less likely to embrace natural gas for a transportation fuel, which would require significant infrastructure investments. Obama, however, is requesting for a $150 billion investment in clean energy over the next ten years. The energy future of the United States is certainly in transition.