Over Labor Day weekend, my honey and I traipsed out to the desert for a day and night of relaxation in the mineral springs and a little casino action. That’s one of the things I love so much about California -- just about any climate is available within a few short hours of driving, whether you are in the mood for beach, mountain or desert heat.
About 30 miles west of fabled Palm Springs, the I-10 runs through the high-desert San Gorgonio Mountain Pass in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains. Here is the domain of that elusive creature known as the wind turbine. Rarely seen in most parts of the country, this arid region supports a thriving herd of more than 4000 individual windmills, which provide enough electricity to power the entire Coachella Valley.
According to the California Energy Commission, in addition to being renewable, wind power is non-polluting, modular and job-generating. Cost wise, “While [wind] power is currently more expensive than that produced by natural gas-fired plants, the price of wind power is not affected by fuel price increases or supply disruptions” and research by the non-profit Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) shows that “the cost of producing wind energy has decreased nearly four fold since 1980.”
Apparently, California’s three major wind regions (this one, Altamont Pass east of San Francisco, and Tehachapi southeast of Bakersfield), with 95% of the state’s capacity, produced 30 percent of the entire world's wind-generated electricity way back in 1995.
So far, working wind turbines have been of the horizontal-axis species, which looks like a high-tech version of your traditional windmill. But rumor has it that a vertical-axis turbine has been developed and is now being tested in the San Gorgonio area, although I didn’t see one close to the highway. They must be even more shy than their taller cousins.
Someday soon perhaps every Spirited Family will have a windmill in their front yard to generate their own electricity, especially in areas where there is not enough sunshine to justify rooftop solar panels. Or course, you’d need to have an adequate supply of wind, averaging at least 13 miles an hour annually.
Or a really talkative next-door neighbor.
~ Teri Breier www.quintessencecreative.com
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