Environment : California Ranks as World’s ‘Windiest’

California is the world leader in wind power, generating 2.7 billion kilowatt hours of electricity with its wind turbines last year. While less than 1% of all U.S. electricity production, that was about 95% of U.S.-produced wind power, and 75% of the entire world’s.

California’s capacity far outstrips that of Denmark, Europe’s leading wind-power generator. In 1991, the total California capacity in operation was about 1,716 megawatts; Denmark’s was only 410.

The privately owned “wind farms” in California are mainly clustered in San Gorgonio Pass, near Palm Springs; Tehachapi Pass, northeast of Los Angeles, and Altamont Pass, east of San Francisco.

SOURCES: American Wind Energy Assn.; California Public Utilities Commission