Altamont Pass
Wind turbines in the Altamont Pass Wind Farm on the pass
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The Altamont Pass is a mountain pass in the Diablo Range east of San Francisco Bay Area in California, which connects Livermore in Livermore Valley and Tracy in the San Joaquin Valley. At the summit is the Altamont Pass Wind Farm, one of the first and largest wind farms in the United States.
About the Altamont Pass lead the highway I- 580, the Altamont Pass Road and a railway line of the Union Pacific Railroad, which is also used by the Altamont Commuter Express regional trains. Until the 1980s, the Southern Pacific Railroad operated a railway line over the Altamont Pass.
On the east side of the pass lies the famous by the Altamont Free Concert, named after the Pass racecourse Altamont Speedway.
Wind farm
After the two oil crises ( in 1973/74 and 1979/ 80) and after the meltdown accident on 28 March 1979 at the nuclear power plant at Three Mile Iceland began in the United States, the search for alternative energy sources. On the Altamont Pass several thousand mounted on a steel tower small wind turbines ( WT ) were erected the first generation. Ancillary facilities of U.S. firms, but often proved due to non- mature technology due to lack of experience in the wind power plant to be unreliable, especially Danish turbines have been installed, as the use of wind energy was a bit more widespread than in the U.S. in Denmark. The end of 1985 originated approximately 40 % of California's wind turbines from Denmark, which itself significantly contributed in addition to the domestic sales in Denmark to build the world today significant Danish wind energy industry.
Had the wind farm (as of January 2011) 558 MW capacity ( 4,930 turbines), corresponding to a nominal output of approximately 110 kW per turbine. Modern systems (2012 ) have a nominal output of around 2 to 3 MW. Since the existing facilities are outdated ( a not inconsiderable number even defective), the number of wind turbines to be significantly reduced in the course of a repowering.
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- Mountain pass
- Pass in the United States
- Geography (California )
- Alameda County