They tower almost 100 feet into the sky, standing like ramrod-straight white knights on watch over the small island in the South Atlantic. Fla. Ascension is the last tracking station before a launch enters into space.
Wind power is, of course, an ancient concept.
Wind mills have for centuries been used to grind grain and pump water. But harnessing the power of the wind to generate electricity is relatively new, said Tom Hodges, wind farm project manager. Hodges, a mechanical engineer with the Construction Management Directorate at the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence at Brooks , noted that wind energy has been popular mainly in Northern Europe, California and more recently in West Texas. Now the Air Force is trying it, and the results have been impressive. After only four days of operation the farm had produced more than 38,000 kilowatt-hours of power, saving more than 3,100 gallons of fuel.