Mega Wind Project Set To Get Underway Near Mojave Desert

The Los Angeles Times reported this week that the Alta Wind Energy Center has broken ground. The reason this project is considered mega is how it started and the overall plan. It is considered the largest wind power project in the US today. The project has had multiple ownership changes since 2000, the original planner went bankrupt and it has not been well received by the local community. The developer Terra-Gen Power has since taken over the project and they have begun breaking ground for the 290 turbines over the nine thousand acres along the Tehachapi Pass. They have also secured over a billion in funding, and are set to receive turbines from Vestas-American Wind Technology. The plan is to provide power to six hundred thousand homes to Southern California Edison customers as they are compelled to meet the State goal of supplying thirty three percent of energy from renewable sources by 2020.

The next faze will involve another 300 turbines by 2015 with potential wind blades being nearly a football field long. The entire project will dwarf the existing landscape of turbines along the pass. Most of this area is farm land along Hwy 58 tucked away among the mountains. Also most of the land is being leased for this project providing an income source and allowing future cattle grazing for farmers.

This type of land in the past sold for less than five hundred an acre not long ago. It was considered unusable or only suitable for agricultural use. It demonstrates that long term land investment can be a patient and lucrative endeavor. There is still an abundance of available vacant land in Kern County and Los Angeles County that is prime for industrial uses like Wind Energy Projects. Many wind tests and planning has been completed over the years, which verifies this area as a prime wind energy location. In this case the permitting process took three years and the project had numerous environment hurdles to overcome. In the end the Alta project will begin.

Edison to Land Solar Power Plant outside of Lake Los Angeles

The Antelope Valley Press has reported that Southern California Edison under its power generation division Edison Mission Energy is planning a 150 megawatt photovoltaic plant in Antelope Valley, Ca. Edison Mission Energy has solar power operations in Mojave Ca. in Kern County presently. They are looking to expand south into the eastern edge of Los Angeles County at the San Bernardino County line. The proposed site is currently on presently or previously farmed agricultural land near 240th street East at Ave S.

Edison Mission Energy looks like they have targeted previously disturbed land, which should enable them to leap major environmental issues that have slowed the development of raw vacant land. The request for development has already begun earlier this summer, and they hope for final approval by late 2010. This project also uses photovoltaic technology which doesn’t require water, and the solar panels will only rise a few feet above the ground. This is a strategy that other solar power companies have used which can fast track the process, and limits the environmental impact.

The Wind Farms of Tehachapi and Solar Plants of Mojave, and Lancaster have become a green zone in the new energy economy. These areas were primarily vacant pre-developed land and have increased in value with the housing boom earlier this decade and now a green energy renaissance has begun. Just a decade ago you could buy raw land in these areas for as low as $500 to $1000 an acre, and now even in this current down real estate market the prices have increased a minimum of one hundred percent. Most of this land has been undesirable land for building or development with the rolling hills of Tehachapi and arid desert land in Lancaster far from current development, but now these Alternative Energy Companies like Edison have taken root. These companies are taking advantage of low priced land and looking toward the future. With the potential population growth and the alternative energy development the Antelope Valley’s future is taking shape. We have invested in pre-developed land in these areas and we have taken advantage of the news and development of the area these past five years. We also encourage our investors to take a closer view at similar prudent opportunities.