Renewable Energy- Altamont Pass Wind Farm- California

On June 24 we stopped by and saw the Altamont Pass Wind Farm in Livermore, California.

It is the largest and one of the first wind farms in the United States. It was built during the Carter administration. The farm has 4, 930 single unit turbines ranging from small to big. It was designed with a capacity of 576 megawatts but is operating at 20% which is 125 megawatts (1 megawatt powers 200-450 homes).

  Smaller wind tubines at Altamont Pass.

                                                  

The farm is right in the middle of raptor and bald eagle migration. The farm’s location was not thought out completely- all the designers thought was that a pass would have lots of wind and should be a good place for a wind farm. Just because a place should be a good place, doesn’t mean it is the right place for a wind farm. Nowadays, a year or more of studying the wind patterns of the area needs to be done before a farm can be erected.