“In Southern California, if you head west on Interstate 10 to Los Angeles, the swaying palm trees are among the region’s most iconic markers. However, if you’re on an eastbound trip to the desert, the imagery is replaced by hundreds of twirling wind turbines.
Up close, the stoic giants in the desert are even bigger than they seem from the highway. Including the stem and blade, the tallest machines reach about 500 feet — nearly twice the height of the Statue of Liberty. The region has over 650 wind turbines, and just one can power 1,500 homes annually.
The San Gorgonio Pass in North Palm Springs, which opens into the Coachella Valley, nestled between the San Jacinto and San Bernardino mountains, is home to one of the most visible wind farms in the Golden State. While Altamont Pass in the Bay Area and Tehachapi in another corner of the Mojave Desert are also home to sprawling wind farms, the low desert landscape in the San Gorgonio Pass makes it one of the windiest places in the country — the perfect place for harnessing air currents…”
[Read the full article at sfgate.com]