PALM SPRINGS, California — Driving along Interstate 10 on Nov. 18, wind turbines began to appear on both sides of the road. It signaled entry into the San Gorgonio wind farm, located in Riverside County. As the drive continued, the turbines installed across an approximately 70-square-mile (183-square-kilometer) site spun ceaselessly, riding winds blowing from the mountains into the desert. At about 500 feet tall including the towers and blades, the turbines stand higher than the Statue of Liberty (305 feet), making them visible at a glance.
The Palm Springs area, about a two-hour drive east of Los Angeles, is known as a retreat for Hollywood stars and the place where Marilyn Monroe was scouted by a talent agency. But the attraction that made the city most famous is its wind farm. The Tehachapi wind farm in Kern County, California, is the largest in the United States and the third-largest in the world, but the oldest wind farm in the country is San Gorgonio. It began in 1982 when Wintec Energy installed eight generators. The number once reached 4,500, but as the units were replaced with modern turbines, it has now been reduced to about 600.
The area is suitable for harnessing wind because high ground and flat desert coexist. Winds passing through the San Gorgonio Pass — between the San Jacinto Mountains surrounding Palm Springs and the San Gorgonio Mountains to the north — blow into the Coachella Valley, including the desert, at 15 to 20 miles per hour. Since the wind speed needed to operate wind turbines is about 7 to 10 miles per hour, the area is considered one of the best locations for onshore wind power in the United States.
According to the U.S. wind power database, as of the end of last year, 623 turbines had been installed across the area through 26 development projects. The generating capacity is 660 megawatts (MW). According to local media and tourism company materials, the largest wind turbine has a generating capacity of 3MW, producing enough electricity to supply more than 1,500 households. In 2024, wind power accounted for 11.89% of California's electricity.
One of the drawbacks of wind generators is noise pollution, but the sound of the turbines spinning was barely audible. Because the farm sits next to the highway, ambient noise registered 84 decibels on the meter. Even in the village of Desert Hot Springs, a 10-minute drive away, the turbine sounds could not be felt.
There was resident opposition during the construction of the wind farm, but more than 40 years have passed and there is now no major conflict in the local community. A resident met on site said, "I think it's a good condition for wind power because the wind blowing from the mountains continues year-round." He added, "I've lived here for 12 years, but there's been nothing particularly inconvenient because of noise. Most people seem to think the same way."
But the wind power business has been swept up in major political turmoil. California's wind power industry was once cited as a counterweight in the global clean energy hegemony battle with China, but it now faces a crisis under the Donald Trump administration. In July last year, President Trump took aim at Britain, which has invested heavily in wind power, saying, "I think the windmills are a disgrace. They're inefficient and they're ugly. If you have a windmill, your house value drops by more than 50%." In August last year, the Trump administration canceled federal funding ($679 million) for 12 offshore wind projects, including a California project ($427 million).
The wind farm in the Palm Springs area has also drawn criticism from President Trump several times. In 2012, he pointed out on social media that "Palm Springs, California, has been totally destroyed by the world's ugliest wind farm at the gateway to Interstate 10." In 2020, he also criticized the Palm Springs turbines as "rotting." Even at a meeting with oil company chief executives last month, he stressed, "Wind power plants are a losing business. They lose money, ruin scenery and kill birds," adding, "My goal is to make sure not a single wind turbine gets built."
A war of words is also escalating between President Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is considered a leading Democratic presidential contender. When Governor Newsom signed a memorandum of understanding with Britain's energy minister in London on Nov. 16 to cooperate in clean energy fields including offshore wind, President Trump criticized it as "inappropriate" in a Politico interview on Nov. 16. President Trump claimed, "Gavin is a loser. Everything he touches turns to garbage. His state has become a mess, and his environmental business is a disaster." Late last year, President Trump posted on social media that wind turbines were killing the bald eagle, the symbol of the United States. But when the bird in the posted photo turned out to be a hawk photographed in Israel, Governor Newsom's side fired back, saying, "Doesn't he even know what America's symbol bird looks like?"
