The Altamont Pass wind farm is located in the Altamont Pass of the Diablo Range in Northern California. It is one of the earliest wind farms in the United States. The first wind turbines were placed on the Altamont in the early 1980s by Fayette Manufacturing Corporation on land owned by cattle rancher Joe Jess.[1] The wind farm is composed of 4930[2] relatively small wind turbines of various types, making it at one time the largest wind farm in the world in terms of capacity. Altamont Pass is still one of the largest concentration of wind turbines in the world, with a capacity of 576 megawatts (MW), producing about 125 MW on average and 1.1 terawatt-hours (TWh) yearly.[3] They were installed after the 1970s energy crisis in response to favorable tax policies for investors.
When the first windfarms appeared in 1981, on the Altamont hills alongside the Altamont Pass portion of the I-580 freeway, the appearance of the modern windmill generated media excitement and public interest. This portion of the freeway was an increasingly used corridor for growing the bedroom communities of Tracy, Lodi and Modesto serving the Bay Area of California (Oakland, San Francisco and Pleasanton). Daily commuters crowded past the otherwise barren cattle ranches for several hours each day.
By 1985, the Altamont Pass was crowded with over 26 different windfarms. The increased visibility from the nearby I-580 freeway, which had once sparked the media and community's interest, was now widely regarded as a growing eyesore. Successful windfarms at the Altamont Pass encouraged the development of further industrial wind areas in southern California. These windfarms, in the Tehachapi Pass, led to wider recognition, after windmills played a role as a prominent backdrop in several feature films of the mid- and late 1980s including the 1985 film based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel Less than Zero, featuring Andrew McCarthy and Robert Downey, Jr.
Environmental effectsedit
The small turbines used at Altamont are dangerous to various raptors that hunt California ground squirrels in the area. 1300 raptors are killed annually, among them 70 golden eagles, which are federally protected; in total, 4700 birds are killed annually[4] including the endangered California condor.[5] Overall there has been an 80% decline in golden eagles in Northern California, with no golden eagles nesting near the facility, although it is a prime habitat.[6] Considered largely obsolete, these numerous small turbines are being gradually replaced with much larger and more cost-effective units. The larger units rotate at a much lower angular frequency to the previous turbines, and, being elevated higher, are claimed to be less hazardous to the local wildlife. This claim is supported by a report done for the Bonneville Power Administration.[7]
As of 2010, a settlement has been reached between the Audubon Society, Californians for Renewable Energy and NextEra Energy Resources (who operate some 5,000 turbines in the area). Nearly half of the smaller turbines will be replaced by newer, more bird-friendly models. The project was expected to be complete by 2015 and included $2.5 million for raptor habitat restoration.[8]
Wind farmsedit
The Altamont Pass Wind Farm[9] is now composed of five constituent wind farms. The Golden Hills Wind Farm is the largest constituent wind farm, as well as being the only one located south of Altamont Pass.
In 2015, NextEra – which owns some of the 100kW Kenetech/US Windpower older turbines installed during the 1980s – agreed to remove the machines and replace them with 48 new model wind turbines. A power purchase agreement has been completed to power the Googleplex office complex in nearby Mountain View, California. The process of removing old wind turbines and replacing them with newer machines is called repowering.[15]
A portion of the wind energy center is being dismantled as of 2016. Altamont Winds Inc (AWI)'s 83MW of 100 kW Kenetech turbines are being taken down. These are older models with lattice towers. It has been proposed to replace them with 27 turbines with rated capacity of 2.1MW each (56.7MW total).[16]
The Scott Haggerty wind farm replaced 569 100-kW turbines with 23 modern turbines in 2021.[17]
^"Lodi News-Sentinel – Google News Archive Search".
^. www.calwea.org. Archived from the original on 2012-02-03. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
^ "Altamont Pass, California – Encyclopedia of Earth". www.eoearth.org. from the original on 19 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
^Bogo, Jennifer (September 14, 2007). "How the Deadliest Wind Farm Can Save the Birds: Green Machines". Popular Mechanics. from the original on June 4, 2009. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
^Paul Driessen (22 December 2012). "DRIESSEN: Big Wind tax credit exterminates endangered species". Washington Times. Retrieved 29 December 2012. In an 86-square-mile area blanketed by the Altamont wind facility, no eagles have nested for more than 20 years even though the area is prime habitat, Mr. Wiegand says. Overall, there has been an 80 percent population decline for the golden eagle in Southern California, he notes.
^"Synthesis and Comparison of Baseline Avian and Bat Use, Raptor Nesting and Mortality Information from Proposed and Existing Wind Developments" (PDF). www.bpa.gov. (PDF) from the original on 13 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-07.
^Andrew Dalton (December 7, 2010). Altamont Pass to Get Less-Deadly Wind Turbines 2013-04-16 at the Wayback Machinesfist.
^"Electricity Data Browser - Altamont Pass Windplant". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
^"Electricity Data Browser - Buena Vista Energy LLC". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
^"Electricity Data Browser - Diablo Winds LLC". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
^"Electricity Data Browser - Golden Hills Wind". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
^"Electricity Data Browser - Golden Hills North Wind Energy Center". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
^"Electricity Data Browser - Vasco Winds". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
^O'Brien, Matt (2016-08-12). "Google buys Altamont wind energy to power Googleplex". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
^"Dismantling under way at Altamont Pass". Windpower Monthly. Windpower Monthly. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
^"Developers replace and repower California wind farm". Windpower Engineering & Development. 27 September 2021. from the original on 28 September 2021.
Wampler, Steve (March 9, 1982). "Windmills are growing along Altamont Hills". Lodi News Sentinel.
External linksedit
Media related to Altamont Pass Wind Farm at Wikimedia Commons
30 photos of Altamont Pass wind farm
Wind farms of the World
February 16, 2024
altamont, pass, wind, farm, located, altamont, pass, diablo, range, northern, california, earliest, wind, farms, united, states, first, wind, turbines, were, placed, altamont, early, 1980s, fayette, manufacturing, corporation, land, owned, cattle, rancher, jes. The Altamont Pass wind farm is located in the Altamont Pass of the Diablo Range in Northern California It is one of the earliest wind farms in the United States The first wind turbines were placed on the Altamont in the early 1980s by Fayette Manufacturing Corporation on land owned by cattle rancher Joe Jess 1 The wind farm is composed of 4930 2 relatively small wind turbines of various types making it at one time the largest wind farm in the world in terms of capacity Altamont Pass is still one of the largest concentration of wind turbines in the world with a capacity of 576 megawatts MW producing about 125 MW on average and 1 1 terawatt hours TWh yearly 3 They were installed after the 1970s energy crisis in response to favorable tax policies for investors Altamont Pass wind farmTurbines near Livermore CaliforniaCountryUnited StatesLocationAltamont Pass Alameda County CaliforniaCoordinates37 43 57 N 121 39 9 W 37 73250 N 121 65250 W 37 73250 121 65250StatusOperationalCommission date1981Wind farmTypeOnshorePower generationUnits operational4930Nameplate capacity576 MWAnnual net output1 1 TWhExternal linksCommonsRelated media on Commons edit on Wikidata Wind turbines dot the landscape as Interstate 580 winds through Altamont PassOlder wind turbines Contents 1 In the media 2 Environmental effects 3 Wind farms 3 1 Repowering 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksIn the media editThis section possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed February 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message When the first windfarms appeared in 1981 on the Altamont hills alongside the Altamont Pass portion of the I 580 freeway the appearance of the modern windmill generated media excitement and public interest This portion of the freeway was an increasingly used corridor for growing the bedroom communities of Tracy Lodi and Modesto serving the Bay Area of California Oakland San Francisco and Pleasanton Daily commuters crowded past the otherwise barren cattle ranches for several hours each day By 1985 the Altamont Pass was crowded with over 26 different windfarms The increased visibility from the nearby I 580 freeway which had once sparked the media and community s interest was now widely regarded as a growing eyesore Successful windfarms at the Altamont Pass encouraged the development of further industrial wind areas in southern California These windfarms in the Tehachapi Pass led to wider recognition after windmills played a role as a prominent backdrop in several feature films of the mid and late 1980s including the 1985 film based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel Less than Zero featuring Andrew McCarthy and Robert Downey Jr Environmental effects editThe small turbines used at Altamont are dangerous to various raptors that hunt California ground squirrels in the area 1300 raptors are killed annually among them 70 golden eagles which are federally protected in total 4700 birds are killed annually 4 including the endangered California condor 5 Overall there has been an 80 decline in golden eagles in Northern California with no golden eagles nesting near the facility although it is a prime habitat 6 Considered largely obsolete these numerous small turbines are being gradually replaced with much larger and more cost effective units The larger units rotate at a much lower angular frequency to the previous turbines and being elevated higher are claimed to be less hazardous to the local wildlife This claim is supported by a report done for the Bonneville Power Administration 7 As of 2010 a settlement has been reached between the Audubon Society Californians for Renewable Energy and NextEra Energy Resources who operate some 5 000 turbines in the area Nearly half of the smaller turbines will be replaced by newer more bird friendly models The project was expected to be complete by 2015 and included 2 5 million for raptor habitat restoration 8 Wind farms editThe Altamont Pass Wind Farm 9 is now composed of five constituent wind farms The Golden Hills Wind Farm is the largest constituent wind farm as well as being the only one located south of Altamont Pass Operational wind farms as of February 2020 Name Capacity MW Owner Commissioned RefBuena Vista Energy 38 Leeward Asset Management LLC December 2006 10 Diablo Winds 18 GlidePath Power Operations LLC January 2005 11 Golden Hills 86 Golden Hills Wind LLC December 2015 12 Golden Hills North 46 Golden Hills Interconnection Wind LLC October 2017 13 Vasco Winds 78 2 Vasco Winds LLC December 2011 14 Repowering edit In 2015 NextEra which owns some of the 100kW Kenetech US Windpower older turbines installed during the 1980s agreed to remove the machines and replace them with 48 new model wind turbines A power purchase agreement has been completed to power the Googleplex office complex in nearby Mountain View California The process of removing old wind turbines and replacing them with newer machines is called repowering 15 A portion of the wind energy center is being dismantled as of 2016 Altamont Winds Inc AWI s 83MW of 100 kW Kenetech turbines are being taken down These are older models with lattice towers It has been proposed to replace them with 27 turbines with rated capacity of 2 1MW each 56 7MW total 16 The Scott Haggerty wind farm replaced 569 100 kW turbines with 23 modern turbines in 2021 17 See also edit nbsp California portal nbsp Weather portal nbsp Renewable energy portal List of power stations in California Wind power in California Wind power in the United StatesReferences edit Lodi News Sentinel Google News Archive Search California Wind Energy Association Fast Facts about California Wind Energy www calwea org Archived from the original on 2012 02 03 Retrieved 2011 02 23 Altamont Pass California Encyclopedia of Earth www eoearth org Archived from the original on 19 May 2008 Retrieved 2008 06 02 Bogo Jennifer September 14 2007 How the Deadliest Wind Farm Can Save the Birds Green Machines Popular Mechanics Archived from the original on June 4 2009 Retrieved July 14 2011 Wind turbines are killing condors Paul Driessen 22 December 2012 DRIESSEN Big Wind tax credit exterminates endangered species Washington Times Retrieved 29 December 2012 In an 86 square mile area blanketed by the Altamont wind facility no eagles have nested for more than 20 years even though the area is prime habitat Mr Wiegand says Overall there has been an 80 percent population decline for the golden eagle in Southern California he notes Synthesis and Comparison of Baseline Avian and Bat Use Raptor Nesting and Mortality Information from Proposed and Existing Wind Developments PDF www bpa gov Archived PDF from the original on 13 August 2009 Retrieved 2009 09 07 Andrew Dalton December 7 2010 Altamont Pass to Get Less Deadly Wind Turbines Archived 2013 04 16 at the Wayback Machine sfist Electricity Data Browser Altamont Pass Windplant www eia gov Retrieved 2022 09 27 Electricity Data Browser Buena Vista Energy LLC www eia gov Retrieved 2020 02 20 Electricity Data Browser Diablo Winds LLC www eia gov Retrieved 2020 02 20 Electricity Data Browser Golden Hills Wind www eia gov Retrieved 2020 02 20 Electricity Data Browser Golden Hills North Wind Energy Center www eia gov Retrieved 2020 02 20 Electricity Data Browser Vasco Winds www eia gov Retrieved 2020 02 20 O Brien Matt 2016 08 12 Google buys Altamont wind energy to power Googleplex The Mercury News Retrieved 2018 10 21 Dismantling under way at Altamont Pass Windpower Monthly Windpower Monthly Retrieved 16 March 2016 Developers replace and repower California wind farm Windpower Engineering amp Development 27 September 2021 Archived from the original on 28 September 2021 Wampler Steve March 9 1982 Windmills are growing along Altamont Hills Lodi News Sentinel External links edit nbsp Media related to Altamont Pass Wind Farm at Wikimedia Commons 30 photos of Altamont Pass wind farm Wind farms of the World Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Altamont Pass wind farm amp oldid 1112705288, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
