Altamont pass is a large group of wind farms near the coast in California. During the Summer '00 trip of the CAUSE class, we visited the EnXco wind farm at Altamont Pass. This particular wind farm was built in 1984 and has been operated since then with only minimal repair work. Six employees work at the site to repair broken turbines and oversee operation. The turbines used here are 76-80 feet high and each produces about 65 kW. Some of the turbines are computer controlled and can be rotated to take full advantage of wind direction; others are completely passive. The computer-controlled turbines are directed by an aninometer. This device activates a wind vane that tells the computer where to move the turbine. The total EnXco site produces approximately 23 MW and the entire Altamont pass site produce about 356 MW. The site produce the most electricity during the windy season -- the time period between May and October.
The EnXco site makes very little noise; the only noticeable noise came from a broken turbine that was scheduled for repair. Cows freely graze among the turbines. This benefits both the farmers who owns the cows, as well as the win farm owners. The cows graze on the grass and keep it short to prevent brush fires at the site.
