Manufactured by a Swiss-Italian company, Wenco tried to take advantage of the California wind rush in the early 1980s by installing 100-kW turbines on Cameron Ridge in the Tehachapi Pass.

Wenco was a spectacular failure. Their extruded aluminum blades were not suited for such a large turbine and they after a short while spectacularly lost their blades.

Data from the California Energy Commission says there were 20 such turbines in the state at one time. I don’t remember that many, but it was four decades ago.

I do remember that there were several derelict Wenco turbines along the Pacific Crest Trail for many years until the Sierra Club filed a complaint with Kern County.

As I’ve said elsewhere, “a Swiss watch, they were not”.