Altamont Pass wind farm
| Altamont Pass wind farm | |
|---|---|
Turbines near Livermore, California in 2009 | |
| Country |
|
| Location | Altamont Pass, Alameda County, California |
| Coordinates | 37°43′57″N 121°39′9″W / 37.73250°N 121.65250°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date | 1981 |
| Wind farm | |
| Type | |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 4930 |
| Nameplate capacity | 576 MW |
| Annual net output | 1.1 TWh |
| External links | |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
The Altamont Pass wind farm is located in the Altamont Pass of the Diablo Range in Northern California. It is one of the earliest wind farms in the United States. The first wind turbines were placed on the Altamont in the early 1980s by Fayette Manufacturing Corporation, on land owned by cattle rancher Joe Jess. The wind farm is composed of 4,930 relatively small wind turbines of various types, making it at one time the largest wind farm in the world in terms of capacity.
Altamont Pass is still one of the largest concentration of wind turbines in the world, with a capacity of 576 megawatts (MW), producing about 125 MW on average and 1.1 terawatt-hours (TWh) yearly. They were installed after the 1970s energy crisis in response to favorable tax policies for investors.