A story about one of the world’s biggest oil refiners turning to wind power to run some of its petroleum operations might seem like a bit of a contradiction, IF you don’t subscribe to the idea that we need to tap into ALL energy resources.

But I think Valero gets it, and this article from the 24/7 Wall St. Web site says the company’s installation of 33 wind turbines near a Texas refinery explains the thought process:

The rising cost of energy is creating strange bedfellows. The wind energy being used by Valero is relatively cheap compared with alternatives. At the same time, it offers proof of the efficacy of a critical counter to the use of fossil fuels and provides the government with more fodder for its argument that an investment in new forms of energy can produce inexpensive and plentiful options that do not involve the production of oil and gas and the pollution by-products that go with their use.

To me, that’s a true energy company… not just an oil company.