In Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, the title character
believes himself a great knight, and he abandons his comfortable home to find
foes to vanquish. When he comes across
some windmills, he sees them as giants, and urges his steed faster as he
launches his attack. What Don Quixote
sees as the giants’ long, waiving arms, Sancho Panza recognizes as sails,
propelled by the wind, to grind the locally harvested grains.
Near the town of Mojave, we noticed this horde of tall, white giants. These boasted a sleek modern design, and are
not intended for agricultural use, but rather electricity generation. I thought them rather impressive, and an
effective means of harnessing the powerful winds that blew across the desert. During our weekend visit to Edwards Air Force
Base and its surroundings, the winds made it difficult, if not impossible, to
wear my hat each afternoon. Nor did such
strong winds entice us to try the outdoor pool and hot tub of our hotel in
Lancaster.
According to the locals, such strong winds are a regular
feature of life there. It makes sense
that that the locals should turn this abundant, natural force to their
advantage. The windmills we saw were
part of the Tehachapi Wind Farm, which produces enough electricity to power as
much as 400,000 homes. According to
Wikipedia, wind power produced five percent of California’s total electricity
needs in 2012. As wind power represents
a source of clean, sustainable energy, I’m pleased that our state ranks second
in production in the United States.
Some, like Don Quixote, oppose wind farms, but I thought all
those sleek, white shapes enlivened the desert and surrounding hills. What do you think?
Dragon Dave
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