The Zond Z-50

Like the U.S. company Kenetech, Zond Systems endured the early boom and subsequent bust in the wind industry. Unlike Kenetech, however, Zond had been exclusively a wind farm developer and not a manufacturer.

Zond founder Jim Dehlsen started designing a wind turbine in the 1980s after growing unhappy with other designs. Realizing he was far behind the designs from Denmark, he changed direction and purchased the ruggedly built Vestas V-15 wind turbines instead. Dehlsen’s decision paid off, and Zond became a prolific wind farm developer. Zond ordered 1100 Vestas machines in 1985 alone, many installed in Palm Springs.

The years after the Wind Rush ended in 1985 were a struggle for Zond. One tactic was to improve the performance of their wind projects, and they succeeded in increasing electricity production by more than 20% over several years. Florida Power and Light invested in Zond to complete a large project in Tehachapi, possibly inspired by Zond’s performance. Despite many hurdles, Zond succeeded.

Most accounts describe Dehlsen as driven to bring down the cost of wind energy to compete with other energy production forms. Achieving this would require Zond to design and build large, reliable turbines.

Zond won a Department of Energy grant to develop a 550-kilowatt wind turbine. Although its large competitor Kenetech charged that the U.S. Government had funded their future competition, the award stood. Zond went on to produce its Z-40 wind turbine, which the U.S. Department of Energy called “a sleek, modern version of the conventional wind turbine that evolved in Europe from the classic Dutch windmill.”

Hoping to avoid the mistakes made by their predecessors in the American wind industry, Zond subjected their new design to extensive testing. After correcting relatively minor issues in the field, the Z-40 largely succeeded.

The last Zond Z-50 wind turbine standing in Palm Springs before it was dismantled in 2022.

Zond moved forward with designs for a 750-kilowatt wind turbine dubbed the Z-50. Among other departures from the Danish design, it would feature variable speed technology since it had acquired Kenetech’s patent after its bankruptcy. Like the Z-40, Zond tested the new turbine extensively. By all accounts, it was a solid design. Before building the turbine, the company won its first bid to power a wind project in Minnesota.

As Zond began seeing tremendous interest in its new machine, it knew it would need to ramp production to meet demand and establish a worldwide presence. To do so meant a substantial infusion of capital.

Zond sold most of its shares to the Enron Corporation in 1997, forming Enron Wind, which seemed poised for explosive growth. Dehlsen would serve as a director in the new Enron subsidiary.

Enron Wind also purchased German firm Tacke Windtechnik, which had grown to become the fifth-largest wind turbine manufacturer globally. It had incrementally evolved its reliable wind turbines to reach 1.5-megawatt output but fell into bankruptcy.

Enron Wind completed several wind developments featuring Zond’s Z-50 in the U.S., including one in Palm Springs and another in Cabazon, about eight miles to the west.

Unrelated to the operation of its wind division, Enron Wind’s parent infamously declared bankruptcy in 2001, the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy at that time. General Electric acquired Enron’s worldwide wind turbine manufacturing and engineering facilities and proprietary technologies, but other companies purchased its operating wind farms.

GE Wind Energy (now a branch of GE Renewable Energy) continued to become one of the largest wind turbine manufacturers in the world.