Low Frequency Radio Station
Client: American Wind Energy Association
1992
Overview:
530 AM, a low-frequency radio station, informs drivers passing through the Altamont Pass on I-580, about the thousands of wind turbines operating there.
In June 1992, the California Energy Commission launched a low-frequency radio station to broadcast information about wind energy to the nearly 100,000 vehicles that drive through the Altamont Pass every day. The Altamont Pass which separates the San Francisco Bay Area from California's Central Valley, is a windy area with thousands of working wind turbines. Cathy Kahn came up with the idea for a radio station that will provide dynamic information about wind power by switching messages with changes in wind speeds.
Robert D. Kahn & Company's long-time client, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), with financial help of several AWEA members and the California Energy Commission, developed the station as one of the state's Travellers' Information Stations.
The "electronic kiosk" which can be picked up within a five mile radius works by linking wind speeds to selected messages. During low winds, the transmitter broadcasts one series of messages, and during high winds, another. This enables the radio station to vary dynamically between 14 messages to better explain the operation of the wind turbines as well as to provide travel advisories in the event of dangerous conditions. Each broadcast on 530 AM is introduced by California's Governor.
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