San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm

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The San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm is a wind farm located on the eastern slope of the San Gorgonio Pass in Riverside County, just east of White Water, California, United States. Developed beginning in the 1980s, it is one of three major wind farms in California, along with those at Altamont and the Tehachapi passes. The gateway into the Coachella Valley, the San Gorgonio Pass is one of the windiest places in southern California.

Video San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm

Utilities

As of January 2008, the farm consists of 3,218 units delivering 615 MW. A single Southern California Edison Path 46 500 kilo-volt power line crosses the pass on the northern edge of San Jacinto Peak. This line links the Los Angeles metro area with the Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant.

Maps San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm

History and governance

Wind energy development in the San Gorgonio Pass area was formally studied through the San Gorgonio Wind Resource Study EIR (1982), a joint environmental document prepared for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Riverside County. The document assessed three scenarios for wind energy development in the area and included criteria for the development of wind energy on both a countywide basis and specifically for the San Gorgonio Pass area. Since 1982, and the approval of wind energy development in the San Gorgonio Pass, numerous wind turbines have become part of the landscape. The narrow turbines range from 80 to 160 feet in height.

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Involvement with ExxonMobil

In August 1997, ExxonMobil and Southern California Edison jointly constructed a combination oil refinery and storage facility. The plant continues to operate as a refinery while at the same time storing a healthy oil reserve. The refinery and storage facility works in tandem with the wind farm to utilize the energy created in the necessary processes in the refinery process.

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Further information

• In 1998 Huell Howser Productions, in association with KCET/Los Angeles, featured the windfarms in California's Gold; the 30 minute program is available on VHS. A second Howser/California's Gold program on the wind farms was produced in 2010.

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See also

• Wind power in California
• Wind power in the United States
• List of onshore wind farms
• The Passage - a novel by Justin Cronin which features the wind farm

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References

Source of the article : Wikipedia