Drive-Through Tour: Eco-Friendly Windpower in California's San Gorgonio Pass

The Santa Ana's may be fanning fires, destroying power lines, and littering the streets and hillsides of Los Angeles, but out in the San Gorgonio Pass, this season's strongest gusts are welcome winds. Nestled in the Coachella Valley just southwest of Palm Springs, the San Jacinto Mountains form a natural wind tunnel that powers 4,000 windmills collectively producing enough electricity on the average to power a city the size of San Francisco.

"A/C power generated by wind turbines is the most sensible form of alternative energy," said Jack Norie, tour operator for Windtec, just one of 80 wind farms in the pass. "Not only that, they're a great investment," he said. Windtec is just one of ten privately owned entities in the San Gorgonio Pass that sells wind-generated power to Southern California Edison at the rate of 6 cents per KwH.

"Make no mistake about it, wind farms are a business. Once the original investment is paid off, it's pure profit," explained Norie. The cost of a modern windmill is approximately $1.5 million per turbine but the investment cost breaks even between 4-6 years of operation. The average life of a windmill is about 25 years.

Once installed, the only additional cost is semi-annual maintenance to grease and wash the blades and any unanticipated repairs. He estimated Windtec's annual profit margin to be roughly between $350,00-400,000.

The size of the property dictates how many windmills can be placed on the farm for maximum power and profit generating efficiency. Each windmill is spaced 4 wind blade diameters apart (~700 feet) to maximize the wind power so that each windmill does not steal wind from the next one, similar to the way a sailboat can steal wind power from a boat in front of it.

The rest of Noble's 100-acre lot is scattered with design failures and expired machines. A handful of inoperable windmills scatter the landscape because the cost of removing them exceeds the salvage price, Norie said

Winds on a 30-day average of 30 MPH whip through the connecting mountain ranges into San Gorgonio pass and fan out into the Coachella Valley basin. The first of the towering windmill blades picks up and begins to spin followed by the next machine and then the next. Since A/C power cannot be stored, the electricity generated must be used immediately. It passes from each windmill's generator down through a system of underground wires to a substation owned by Southern California Edison, where it is metered and then sent out along the grid to consumers. At peak efficiency, each windmill generates enough energy to power 1,500 homes.

Design simplicity is the key to ensure return on investment to minimize maintenance and repair costs. "The more time a windsmith has to go up there and fix something is more time required to get back your original investment," Norie said.

The goal of wind power generation design is aerodynamic efficiency and total cost of return. "Modern, infinitely variable asynchronous generation with multiple output from three blades," Norie rolled off his tongue, "is the best way to capture wind power." He added, "A fourth blade could be better for generation, but the cost of maintaining it exceeds the cost of investment."

The newer wind turbines have variable pitch changing blades that rotate slightly to face upwind to maximize wind efficiency and minimize instability that places extra force on a windmill's 200-foot tower and its 80-foot implanted foundation. The anemometer, or wind speed sensor, senses adequate velocity and direction of incoming winds and will adjust the blades to maximize power generation. The first and second-generation models of stable blades were only 60% efficient on capturing wind power compared to the third and fourth generation variable pitch blade turbines, Norie said.

Other times, the wind may be too strong and the anemometer will cause the blades to slow down, or in extreme winds, to shut down completely. Too much wind can burn out a wind turbine's generator and place too much force on the tower. Over time, this can lead to repair costs.

Likewise, the choice in materials is based on return of investment. Windmill blades are made out of fiberglass because it relatively inexpensive compared to other materials like Kevlar and Titanium that could generate more power. "A set of three blades made out of fiberglass costs ~$60,000 while a set composed of other materials can cost up to ten times as much. The profit return is just not feasible at that point," Norie explained.

The wind power generation boom began during development of the West during the early 1900's and resurged again in the 1980's when reports of dwindling fossil fuels were released and the federal government began giving tax credits for wind farm developments. Windtec owner Fred Noble is a former attorney who bought the 100-acre lot in the 1980's to develop a mobile home park, but instead built a wind farm.

Currently, California wind farms provide 1.5% of the state's energy needs. The U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Program aims to meet 5% of the state's energy demands using wind power by 2020.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), a Washington-based trade group is campaigning directly to Los Angeles residents who live in prime wind generating locations to purchase small-wind turbines to help reach this renewable energy goal. But even with tax credits and surplus energy being purchased by the utility companies, the obstacle at this point is the cost if building.

"In every alternative energy source, there are tradeoffs," Norie said, "but we have to take them to ensure our way of life that many of us take for granted."

The next time you curse the Santa Ana's, remember that the wind power generated in the San Gorgonio Pass be allowing you to turn on your computer, watch TV, or even turn on your lights. And that's not just hot air.