The wind power industry grew rapidly in 2005, becoming more competitive as natural gas prices jumped and crude oil prices reached record highs. Improved technology, a federal tax credit, and pressure on utilities to use clean energy sources helped fuel the growth from coast to coast. Although the demand for wind-derived energy has increased, many wind farms located in rural areas are at a technological disadvantage.

Giant windmills—on scenic mountain ridges, prairie grass and even Indian reservations—have one thing in common: because of their location, they are unable to receive terrestrial broadband connectivity.

As a result, many wind farm operators find themselves struggling to maintain employee productivity as their employees are forced to leave the job site numerous times a day to travel to an urban area to access the Internet in order to check email or to predict wind machine performance at a specific location.

Satellite is helping to change this. For years, Pete Share, CEO of DCS Satellite and Security and a HughesNet^® dealer, has brought high-quality and reliable satellite broadband access to wind farms operating in the rural mountains of northern California, a feat that many terrestrial operators still struggle to undertake. As a result, the wind farmers have realized increased productivity and are better able to track the performance of their farms operating in several dispersed areas.

Is Anyone Out There?

According to Share, many of the wind farms operating in California are in remote areas, sometimes two to three hours away from the nearest city. Although most of the farms are equipped with landline phones, they all lack broadband connectivity—making it impossible for workers to carry out basic functions that have become essential to successful business operations, such as checking email.