Sorry for your shock-induced furor, but you should do some research before you make arguments.  I didn't say windpower was born in the Altamont Pass, i said the wind INDUSTRY was born there, meaning commercial use of turbines.  The Danish industry wouldn't have made the strides it did without the COMMERCIAL sale of turbines to California, in the first years primarily to the Altamont.

I agree that the Altamont turbines are a PR disaster, but you should find out why and who has prevented the Altamont repowering proposals from going forward before you slam the industry.  The industry has been trying to upgrade the Altamont for over a decade; stopped by hostile utilities, the legislature and the misunderstood bird issue.

Those turbines represent the living claim that turbines have a useful life of at least 20 years.  They should, however, be replaced, but modern turbines won't fit the bill.  The Altamont wind resource isn't thick enough, and sometimes doesn't even reach 300 feet high.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin