FIRST UTILITY-OWENED WIND FARM

The first utility-owned wind farm in the US was dedicated on August 16 in Solano County in northern California. Officials of Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) opened the first phase of what will ultimately be a 50 MW wind farm in the Montezuma Hills. It consists of 5 MW of Kenetech Windpower 33M-VS variable-speed turbines. SMUD estimates the cost of electricity from the plant will be about $0.043/kWh.