The first wind turbine blade for the Strauss Wind Project was transported through Lompoc Friday.
The Strauss Wind Energy Project is the first wind project on California's Central Coast. It is located approximately 3.5 miles southwest of the city of Lompoc, with Vandenberg Space Force Base to the east.
According to BayWa r.e., the creators of the project, this will generate enough clean, renewable energy to power nearly 44,000 homes.
The first wind turbine blade transported Friday was more than 220 feet long and is one of 87 blades that will need to travel through the city streets to the active construction site.
The project's development began in 2001 and is formerly known as the Lompoc Wind Project. BayWa r.e. acquired the rights to the project in 2006, renaming the project and executing a new strategy towards completion.
"With a total capacity of up to 98.8 MW, Strauss Wind Project will deploy state-of-the-art GE technology utilizing the 3.8 MW platform, currently the largest land-based wind turbine available in GE's fleet,"according to BayWa r.e's website.
Construction will continue throughout 2021 and updates on the wind project can be found on the company's Twitter page.
For more information on maps and road closures while these transportations are taking place, visit this website.
