How Do They Work

Wind Energy

Wind And The Environment

Wind Production

Wind Power Plants

Windmill Types

Alternative Energies

WIND ENERGY

Wind power is the most cost-competitive renewable energy technology today,with some utility scale wind farms producing energy at rates below fossil fuel power plants. If we consider the true costs of energy - including national defense costs, environmental damage costs, and the human cost of our fossil fuel use - wind energy and other forms of renewable energy are in fact much cheaper than fossil fuels.
We have considerable wind resources in the tri-counties region.  Northern Santa Barbara County alone has over 500 MW of wind power capacity. 500 MW of wind, at a 35% efficiency rating (meaning they may only generate their full capacity 35% of the time), would produce 1.53 billion kWh per year.  If the much larger offshore wind capacity is also utilized, the tri-counties region could conceivably become a net renewable electricity exporter.