6/25/09 – Wind Power in California

Giant fields of wind turbines  along Highway 12 and another one in Altamont Pass were intimidating and exciting to see in action. Wind power has been big in California since the oil crises of the 1970s, and at one time the installed capacity in California amounted to 30% of total global capacity. Today there are over 2500 MW of installed wind power in California, amounting to the equivalent of two or three large coal-fired power plants or one or two large nuclear power plants. California has since slipped from the top spot for installed wind capacity. Texas now holds the number one spot with over 7900 MW and Iowa has over 2800 MW in second place. Surprisingly, the U.S. has pulled ahead of the rest of the world in installed capacity in the past year with over 25,000 MW, despite no coherent national energy or climate strategy. So with the recent movement toward a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions in the U.S., we are likely to see even steeper growth in wind capacity in the years to come.

We drove past this field of turbines near Highway 12 on the way to Yosemite.

As wind capacity and other renewable sources of energy (like solar, geothermal, tidal, and biomass) grow as a share of our electricity mix over time, the prospect of an electrified vehicle fleet becomes all the more attractive. Imagine a world with zero-tailpipe emissions and zero smokestack emissions. Now that's something I can get excited about! Better Place advocates for this type of solution in all of the countries that it operates in, and the presence of electric vehicles may in fact help enable more renewable generation than would have been possible before. But I will save the discussion of this synergy for next time, so stay tuned!

Another great shot of the field.