I stepped into the future last week. I walked around in a wind farm. The Palm Springs Windmills are located in the San Gorgonio Pass between two of the San Bernadino Mountains.

The wind gets funneled through this pass. This is one of the largest and most productive windfarms in the US.

The self-guided tour started with a film in a green trailor they called a building. The film described the evolution of the designs of the towers and blades. It also mentioned how Enron’s bankruptcy affected the business.

The best design so far is the round tower with three blades. The tips are pitchable and the motor turns the blades into the wind. The film showed a worker climbing inside the tower to the nacelle to service the generator and gears. Not for me!

Collaboration to achieve the most efficient form of wind energy is crucial. This involves various companies to promote the technology, federal and state investment in  subsidies and better battery storage of energy.

There would be better photos but I got distracted by a toy windmill in the green building and a lizard running between artifacts.

FLOW

P.S. The windmills did not make noise and no birds were killed while I was there.