Wind in California
- Wind Energy Home Page
- Overview of Wind Energy
- Wind Performance Reporting System Reports
- Map Showing Wind Potential in California
- Map of Wind Resources in California
- Guidelines for Reducing Impacts to Birds and Bats from Wind Energy Development
- California's Renewable Energy Program
- Renewable Energy Buydown Program
(Incentives for Home and Small Business Wind Turbines)
Fast Facts About Wind Energy
Existing utility-scale wind power generation facilities can be found in five major resource areas in California:
- Altamont Pass
- Solano
- Pacheco Pass
- Tehachapi Ranges
- San Gorgonio Pass
Three of these primary regions (Altamont, Tehachapi and San Gorgonio) account for nearly 95 percent of all commercial wind power generation in California and approximately 11 percent of the world's wind-generated electricity (Source: Energy Commission, WPRS 2001-2002). With an average California household using 6,500 kWh of electricity per year, 3.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of annual electricity generation from wind resource in the state provides electricity sufficient to power over 530,000 homes.
| 2003 Wind Energy Resources Statistics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource Site | Capacity (MW) |
Generation (GWh) |
Number of Turbines |
Location |
| Altamont | 562 | 1,071 | 4,788 | Northern California |
| Solano | 165 | 102 | 700 | Northern California |
| Pacheco Pass | 16 | 25 | 167 | Central California |
| Tehachapi Ranges | 710 | 1,482 | 3,444 | Southern California |
| San Gorgonio Pass | 359 | 893 | 2,556 | Southern California |
| State Total | 1,812 | 3,573 | 11,655 | |
Source: California Wind Resources - Draft Staff Paper by Dora Yen-Nakafuji. On line April 22, 2005. CEC publication # CEC-500-2005-071-D. (Acrobat PDF, 31 pages, 2.7 megabytes)
Data for individual years can be obtained from the Wind Performance Reporting System maintained by the California Wind Energy Collaborative at UC Davis at: http://wprs.ucdavis.edu/