New California Windfarms to Power 40,000 Homes

Two new windfarms are ready to start generating near Palm Springs.

SAN DIEGO, California, US, 2001-10-10 [SolarAccess.com] SeaWest WindPower, Inc. and PG&E National Energy Group say the 44 MW Mountain View Power Partners project I and a second 22 MW windfarm are located near the San Gorgonio Pass and were developed and constructed by SeaWest. They have been acquired by PG&E’s NEG, which contracted with SeaWest for the operation and maintenance. The Mountain View I & II projects use more than 100 Mitsubishi 600 kW turbines, mounted on 60 m tubular towers and designed to generate enough energy for 40,000 homes in California. The California Department of Water Resources will purchase the entire output of the two wind projects, under a long-term contract. “Renewables, including wind energy, can significantly improve electricity system reliability with very minimal environmental impact,” says Michael Moore, chair of the California Energy Commission’s Electricity & Natural Gas Committee. “These projects are an important part of more than 1,000 megawatts of new renewable capacity being built in California in response to the Energy Commission’s incentive program for new renewable electricity generators.” SeaWest is an independent developer of utility-scale windfarms and has installed 450 MW of wind capacity in California, in addition to 200 MW in Wyoming, Britain and Europe. In addition to the Mountain View projects, PG&E owns the Madison Windpower Project in Madison, New York. The company markets the environmental attributes from its windfarms through its PureWind(SM) campaign. This program enables partners to purchase certificates that represent the air emissions avoided with each megawatt-hour of wind power generated.