Thursday, July 24, 2014
Desert Wind Generators
Getting out of LA and Orange County suburbia can be a real challenge. Traffic is always heavy, and if there's an accident or road construction, it can really get ugly! So I always breathe easier when I get my first glimpse of the wind generators when heading east on the 10 freeway. It's a sure sign that I've officially left suburbia behind!
The wind is always blowing in this part of the desert. Notice how the creosote bush in the photo above is leaning hard to the left? The wind gets funneled between the San Gorgonio mountains to the north and San Jacinto mountains to the south (see photo above), creating a wind tunnel.
Do you have any wind generators in your area? Thanks for stopping by! Linking with Skywatch Friday.
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It is beautiful there! Love seeing your world through your lens, gorgeous sky shots!
ReplyDeleteThere are no wind generators where I am now or where I live, but there are some one the way north when we go through PA. I am always expecting a giant Teletubby to come out from around a hill and make weird baby sounds when I see them. This is my cry for help. (Just kidding.) They are definitely very large reminders that the world is big and powerful, and we can have that power if we reach out!
ReplyDeleteI think Altamont Pass between the Bay Area and the Central Valley would be my closest congregation of wind turbines. Ever see them at ground level? I've seen them being trucked on farm roads in Kansas. It is a major operation requiring police escort all the way. A separate truck with a long trailing dolly behind for each turbine blade. The generator itself is beyond belief in size.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, in Oklahoma we have wind turbines. I think they are god awful. Of course, you can disregard my opinion because I'm in the hydrocarbon industry. I know that I'm cutting my own throat but at the seminars that I go to on energy I'm told that wind energy has reached a stage where they are beginning to be a force in the electric generation businesss.
ReplyDeleteI've seen two individual wind generators here on the NW coast of Washington - though there are hundreds on the east side of the state where there are plains and lots of wind. We do have a lot of wind here on the coast - but no wind generators - it is a shame we don't.
ReplyDeleteOh, I do love your beautiful skies and clouds! What marvelous captures for the day!! We see all kinds of skies these days here in the northwest, but there's always incredible beauty if you choose to see it!! Thanks for sharing!! Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeletebeautiful shots.
ReplyDeleteThese are terrific! I always wanted to get a close shot of wind vane like this.
ReplyDeleteNo we have solar farms popping up al over the place, just as ugly.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be everywhere. Not sure how I feel about them but always remember seeing that huge display outside Palm Springs. Nice shots.
ReplyDeleteWow, gorgeous skies and views. Yes, we have some of the wind turbines here. I have not seen as many as you have there though..
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend and happy skywatching!
Wow, I've wanted to see these wind generators when knowing about them in Holland. Maybe we have them in Hokkaido in Japan. Wonderful pictures of blue sky with them♬♬♬ Thank you very much for sharing great pictures.
ReplyDeleteSincerely from Japan, xoxo Miyako*
nice wind farm shot,how nice if the electricity produced can be used to run desalination and in turn irrigate the desert.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures! I have seen them when traveling on road trips but haven't come across them yet in our immediate area. Never seen that trellis like structure holding them up before.
ReplyDeleteThank God, no wind generators anywhere near my horizon (that I know of) but your photos are fascinating in their stark beauty. That landscape is somehow terrifying to me (I'm used to everything being jungle green and hazy with humidity) but I'd love the opportunity to take pictures there someday. Happy skywatching and happy weekend.
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures, we have some wind farms in New Zealand. I think they are a great idea and they look impressive against the sky.
ReplyDeleteGreat collection of sky shots ... beautiful clouds :)
ReplyDeleteYour photos are so amazing. We have wind generators in Austria but not so much in one area ...
ReplyDeletegreat photos, the wind is a powerful machine indeed
ReplyDeleteAustralia does not have many windfarms yet, they are still a experimenting on a smaller scale
impressive to see what we can do to make nature work for us
http://www.pearlmaple.com/nature-photos/walking-your-story/
Wow...your sky photos are so pretty and dramatic! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYep, our flat lands of the Coastal Bend in Texas is dotted here there everywhere with the wind generators.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen wind generators around Tucson, maybe because the air is usually calm here. Beautiful sky images!
ReplyDeleteThere is such beauty in the desolation there… what a contrast to LA! As for the wind turbines, I'm a fan! (Pun intended!) Though there are some in other parts of the state, there are none in our area - despite the fact we get a lot of wind (no solar arrays, either - despite the fact we get a ton of sun!) It's all about supporting coal and natural gas production. Nary a nod to diversifying energy production and making the inevitable transition from fossil fuels to clean energy production as graceful and painless as possible - not an iota of progressive thinking here, nor seeing the handwriting on the wall and being ready for it (or better yet, ahead of it). Most unfortunate. Give me a graceful and silent wind turbine or solar panel over fracking and oil spills any day.
ReplyDeleteI always like to see wind turbines - I remember some large fields around there. It's windy here, but not quite windy enough to justify wind turbines.
ReplyDeleteWe have wind generators in Australia (and I saw lots in the UK recently) - they seem OK to me, but then I don't have to see them everyday.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the much delayed reply - I've been in the UK for a month and I let the blog sit on the back burner - normal service will resume soon!
Stewart M - Melbourne
PS: no doubt about being a kid at heart - and long my it last!
A perfect location for wind generators! I've seen some in Australia but none near us. We do have some solar panels on our roof top.
ReplyDeleteYour shots are sensational! We do not have wind generators around here. That wouldn't fit in with our unique Cajun culture I don't think.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe closest wind generators to us, are the same ones in your great photos.
ReplyDeleteI do that same drive frequently and always try to do it on a weekday at about 10:00 am. Even then, it can sometimes be bad.
I should say to much and they have the not so easy task to blend with their surroundings but that doesn't work very well.
ReplyDeleteI've only seen the wind generators way out west here in Australia.
ReplyDeleteLovely desert landscapes.
We see them fairly often latelyl when we travel -- but the ones you show here were the first we ever saw back in the day when they first started using them.
ReplyDeleteOne time we saw the pieces of one going down the road on a truck convoy. Those things are HUGE. Each blade on one truck.