Last year, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in conjunction with General Electric, went ahead with a 120 megawatt wind farm, known as the Pine Tree Wind Project. It is hoped that it will one day satisfy about twenty percent of the utility's energy demands.
Back in 2004, wind energy in the entire state of California produced greater than 4,200 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, about 1.5 percent of all electricity generated. About 95 percent of all of the state's wind generating apparatus is located in three areas: Altamont Pass, San Gorgonio and Tehachapi.
Wind power plants are made up of turbines that take advantage of the energy in wind motion to make mechanical energy, which is then converted into electrical energy. Wind turbines can be placed near farms, homes and businesses in windy locations, such as along the Los Angeles coast. Turbines are deployable in areas where it isn't cost-efficient to run power lines.
The components of a wind farm include turbines, which feed through an underground power station and a connection from the farm to the nearest power grid. Wind power is more obtainable in certain seasons because the time of year affects wind speed. In California, speeds are greatest in the sweltering summer period. An estimated three-quarters of all yearly wind energy is generated during the spring and summer.
Although power created by old generation wind turbines is not as cost effective as some other forms of energy generation, newer wind turbine designs should be able to be competitive with power costs from nuclear and coal plants.
Some advantages in utilizing wind energy include: replacement of polluting conventional power plants; no pollution in the air, soil or water; it is completely renewable; the installment process is relatively swift; and energy production not affected by gas and oil price increases.
However, there are some areas of concern with wind power, such as: the required use of large areas of land, albeit the fact that simultaneous land uses are available for such tasks as agriculture and cattle grazing. Other potential concerns are that it can cause erosion in desert areas, and disrupt wildlife habitats.
Matt Paolini is an energy writer} for CityBook.com, the family-safe online yellow pages, which carries an extensive directory on Los Angeles energy and environment.
