5.7 GW of short turbines could be added to the Tehachapi Wind Resource Area

California, Density, H-Type, Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines, Kern County, North America, Synergy with Tall and Short Turbines, Tehachapi Wind Resource Area, Vertical Axis Wind Turbines, Wind Farms
Publication: Wind Harvest International
Year Published: 2023
Resource

Wind Harvest analyzed the Tehachapi wind resource area using publicly available location information and UL’s Windnavigator. We found that the area could add 5,700 MWs of Wind Harvester type turbines to the existing 3,263 MWs of propeller-type turbines currently installed in Kern County. Based on the mid-level wind speeds in the zone, this level of buildout would produce 18,364 GWh of electricity per year. The existing wind farms produce ~11,000 GWh of electricity per year.

California Mid-Level Wind Resources in Wind Farms

Alameda/Contra Costa Counties, Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, California, Country-by-Country Resources, East San Diego County Wind Resource Area, Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines, Kern County, Mendocino/Lake Counties, North America, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County, San Gorgonio Pass Wind Resource Area, Shasta County, Solano County, Solano Wind Resource Area, Tehachapi Wind Resource Area, Vertical Axis Wind Turbines, Wind Farms
Summary of onshore wind farms
Existing GWs of HAWT wind farms in state 6.4
GWs of HAWTs over 6.5m/s at 20m agl (projected) 5.5
% of wind farms over 6.5m/s at 20m agl 86%

HAWT: Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine

This data came from thewindpower.net and UL’s Windnavigator.
Publication: Wind Harvest International

Copyright: Creative Commons BY-SA

Wind Farm Summary & Details
Wind Map

California Wind Resource Areas: Mid-Level Wind Potential

Alameda/Contra Costa Counties, Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, California, Country-by-Country Resources, Density, East San Diego County Wind Resource Area, H-Type, Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines, Kern County, North America, Riverside County, San Diego County, San Gorgonio Pass Wind Resource Area, Solano County, Solano Wind Resource Area, Synergy with Tall and Short Turbines, Tehachapi Wind Resource Area, Vertical Axis Wind Turbines, Wind Farms
All of California’s wind farms–6000+ megawatts producing 15,200 gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually as of 2021–are on land already zoned for wind energy production. Wind Harvest estimates that, if fully built out on existing wind farms in the Wind Resource Areas, H-type vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) could add 10 GW of capacity and about 31,500 GWh of energy per year to California’s grid, fulfilling about 23% of the state carbon neutrality goal. Alternatively, if these VAWTs were added to the Wind Resource Areas both around as well as within existing wind farms, California could add ~15 GW and 45,000 GWh of energy to the grid, or about 33% of what the state needs to reach carbon neutrality.
California Wind Resource Potential Report
Summary of onshore wind farms and H-type turbine potential
GWs of existing (HAWT) wind farms in California Wind Resource Areas (CA WRAs) 6
GWs of VAWTs that could be added outside of existing wind farms in CA WRAs 5
GWs of VAWTs that could be added to existing wind farms in CA WRAs 10
This data came from thewindpower.net and UL’s Windnavigator.
Publication: Wind Harvest International

CEC Wind Atlas 1985 – Kern County

California, Country-by-Country Resources, Kern County, North America, Tehachapi Wind Resource Area
Publication: California Energy Commission
Year Published: 1985
Wind Map (kmz file)
Wind Station Index (.xlsx file)

Information found here was based on the California Energy Commission report, CEC Wind Atlas, April 1985. Most of the windspeed data was collected at <10m above ground level. The complete  CEC Wind Atlas  and its underlying reports can be found at the CEC’s main library at 1516 9th St, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 654-4292.

Sensitivity of Southern California Wind Energy to Turbine Characteristics

California, Density, East San Diego County Wind Resource Area, Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines, Kern County, North America, Riverside County, San Diego County, San Gorgonio Pass Wind Resource Area, Tehachapi Wind Resource Area, Turbulence, Wake, Wind Farms
Author: Scott B. Capps, Alex Hall and Mimi Hughes
Publication: Wind Energy, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Year Published: 2011
Resource

Capps, Hall and Hughes evaluate how variation in wind turbine characteristics such as rotor diameter, rater power and hub height affect wind energy production in Southern California.