Wind Energy in California

The wind is not only useful for kite flying and providing a cool breeze on a hot summer day. The energy of the wind can also be used to perform other kinds of work. The wind’s kinetic energy can be altered into either mechanical or electrical energy. Boats use wind energy as the wind presses against the boat’s sails and causes the boat to be pushed through the water. Wind energy is used by farmers to pump water from wells through the use of windmills. Plus, wind energy is used to rotate large grinding stones to mill wheat and corn similar to the way that a water wheel rotates because of water power.

These are all examples of how mechanical wind energy is used, but another example of how wind energy can be used is to generate electrical energy, electricity. The way that the wind is used to create electricity is through the use of devices called wind turbines. Wind turbines are exactly like large versions of toy pinwheels, using the blowing wind to cause the blades of the wind turbines to spin.

The blades of a wind turbine are connected to a center point that is attached to a turning shaft. The turning shaft runs through a gear transmission box which is where the turning speed of the blades is adjusted. The transmission box is affixed to a high-speed duct whose job is to turn a generator which then creates electricity. If wind speeds become too high and forceful, there is a brake in the turbine that will prevent the turbine’s blades from spinning to fast and getting damaged.

In the state of California, there are many windy areas that are perfect for wind turbines. A significant problem with wind turbines, however, is that the wind is an unreliable source of energy. It is not windy all of the time, which means that when there is no wind power, energy can’t be produced. In California, it is generally windier during the summer time when the wind streams inland from cooler locations, like the ocean, and then replaces the hot rising air from California’s central valleys and deserts.

In order for the blades of a wind turbine to be able to turn fast enough to generate electricity, wind speeds must be above 12 miles per hour. On average, each wind turbines produces between 50 and 300 kilowatts of electricity. To put this into perspective, this means that a wind turbine that creates 300 kilowatts of electricity has the capability of illuminating 3,000 light bulbs that use 100 watts of electricity.

In the year 1999, there were 11,368 wind turbines in California. These turbines are not spread out or located in isolation from one another. Rather, they are grouped together in what are referred to as wind farms. For the most part, these wind farms are located in the 3 windiest sections of the state. These sections are: Altamont Pass, east of San Francisco; San Gorgonio Pass, near to Palm Springs; and Tehachapi, south of Bakersfield.

If the forces of the wind farms in these 3 California locations are combined, they generate enough electricity to power a city the size of San Francisco. California’s wind farms produce 11 percent of the entire world’s wind-generated electricity. Denmark and Germany are two other locations that use a significant amount of wind energy.