Does that big windmill work?
The Polenko Windgeneratoren pictured on our home page was made in the Netherlands and was one of the first electric-producing wind generators in California, installed by Jane Fonda in 1981. A number of factors prevent it from being used today in its original capacity. Early design flaws, safety considerations, modern regulations, aging and outdated machinery, and ungodly amounts of generated noise, to name a few. It does however serve an unorthodox purpose. Local paragliders (including our own Kabir), navigating thermal wind currents, use it as a landmark to help guide their flights down from nearby mountain peaks, into Santa Barbara.
