Alerted by Fren, Link immediately visited the website of the U.S. Department of Land and Resources to find data on the distribution of wind resources in Nevada from a publicly available database.

Corresponding to this map, he found that the wind resources around Lake Mead were not considered Feng Feng, and could only be said to be at a medium level.

Fren walked over and looked at it and said, "Although this kind of wind resource is not the best, if you look at this data, the average time of more than level 5 winds for many years is more than 48% of the whole year, and the time of wind above level 6 is more than 29%. This is already a fairly stable wind resource. And the wind at high altitude will be a little stronger. It's just that you can't use a unit with too much installed capacity. ”

"How much capacity do you need to use?"

"Then maybe you need to let an expert do it for you. ”

It turns out that the installed capacity of wind power generation is not always better. If the installed capacity is large, if the wind is insufficient to blow the blades, no matter how large the installed capacity is, it will be in vain. However, if you can install some generator sets with a smaller installed capacity, it is possible to generate electricity most of the year.

The electricity generated by wind turbines is stored in batteries, so it is most efficient to keep the generator running.

Link nodded and said, "I'll see how Ozette is doing." ”

He clicked on a map of Huazhou and found that the wind resources on land in Ozeite were almost blank.

Fren laughed and said, "I remember it was the forest. Surface winds are indeed going to be a little bit smaller. But you see, the wind resources on the coast are of the highest level. The winds off the coast there also seem to be strong. ”

"How much does wind power cost right now?"

"The cost of a 2,000-kilowatt wind turbine is $1,500 per kilowatt. The higher the installed capacity, the higher the cost per unit of installed capacity. ”

Link looked at the very abundant wind resources in the north and westernmost parts of Washington, and was a little moved. But he also knew that those places seemed to be mountainous. Both installation and maintenance costs will be relatively high. No matter how great the temptation in those places is, he can only let go for the time being.

He thought of the farm John Eco had mentioned to him last time.

He searched the map of Nevada to find the location of the farm, and then mapped it to the distribution of wind resources.

He was surprised to find that the area where the farm was located was scattered with wind-rich areas, but the farm was right within one of the largest areas.

He secretly calculated in his heart. His main expense for a while was personal income tax. The main thing is property tax, and his fixed assets have to pay more than 10 million US dollars in taxes at most. And he still has more than half a billion dollars in his account.

At a cost of $1,500 per kilowatt, he could install more than three million kilowatts of wind turbines at most.

Of course, his land could not have allowed him to install so many units. So he can really consider developing wind power on land. The priority, of course, is in Nevada.

Fren sat back in his seat and said, "Although doing business is not as quick as speculation, it is very safe. Energy, in particular, is never without a market. And the energy demand in the United States will only increase, not decrease. However, there is a problem that the investment is large and the recovery of funds is slow. ”

"How big are you going to do?" Link, though he decided to invest in this area, knew that the electricity sector was also controlled by monopolies. Groups such as General Electric control the vast majority of electricity production and transmission in the United States, and if it's just a small fight, maybe the other side won't care too much, but if you do too much, you're likely to be hit by the other side.

Furlen laughed and said, "I'm not going to invest all my money in the power industry. Think of it as saving money on those devices and slowly earning interest in the future. So I'm evaluating the offshore off the northeast coast. It is intended to build a wind farm there. About $300 million will be invested in the early stage. The future investment depends on my future income. ”

He paused and said, "If you're sure you're going to get into the wind industry, it's best to hire a professional team." It is also necessary to account for costs and final revenues. Generally speaking, the longer a wind turbine runs, the lower the capacity factor. ”

Link hadn't learned anything about it before, and he was thinking about it, so he couldn't help but know more.

Fren must have learned more about the wind power industry, and what he said gave Link a lot of insight. They had been talking in the study until dinner time, and Lily came to call them.

Flon left Nevaa for Los Angeles just after noon on Sunday. Fren was going to see his daughter, so Link didn't go with him.

After Flon left, Link called Mike: "Prepare the plane." I'm going to New Mexico. ”

New Mexico is not one of the wind-rich regions. Hanova Farm happens to be in a place where wind resources are scarce because it is a basin. In the basin, wind-rich areas are often scattered, and Hanova is no longer one of them.

But Bob reported to him last night that more than 600 calves would arrive at the farm today. He decided to check it out.

In the afternoon he rushed to Hanova and did not find Bob Fanti in the office area. The big phone called, and found out that he was branding the calf in the sixteenth area of the farm. Knowing this, he drove his own pickup truck to the 16th arrondissement.

Although most of the land on Hanova Farm belongs to the plains, the surface of these plains is not flat. Without the protection of vegetation, rainwater will rush out of the gutters and divide the entire farm into pieces. There is also no possibility of a concrete road on the farm. Link had a bumpy ride, and along the way he saw some herds of cattle fenced off.

Today, the pasture is still fully grown, but after the cold spell has passed, some cattle are driven out of the pen and raised with hay in the farm's pens.

Bob was outside a pen directing the cowboy to drive the calf inside into an exit clip. When the calf is driven here, it will not be able to advance or retreat, and the iron bars on both sides can be tightened, and the cow will not be able to move if it is caught in the middle.

Bob would use a red-hot soldering iron to brand the cow's left buttocks.

Link was in the car and saw Bob branding a freshly bought cow with Hanova's distinctive mark. He stopped the car and opened the door, and the calf had been released from the pen. Link could also smell the smell of burnt hair in the air.

He walked over and asked Bob, "How long will it take for this job to be done?"

"Maybe before the sun sets. Bob said with a laugh. "But if we don't finish it before then, we'll continue to finish it, otherwise the calves won't be able to feed with the other cows. ”

"If you can't finish it today, let's continue tomorrow!" Although Link is the boss, he doesn't think about asking the workers to work overtime.

But Bob doesn't think so: "That's not going to work, Link. The cattle that had just been branded would rush to the third pen of the pen, which was too far away. If some of the cattle had been left here, we would have had to bring hay here by cart tonight. That's a lot more work. And it's next to the road, and if there's a calf here, you'll have to send someone to camp here. Otherwise, the cattle may be stolen. ”

Link was really the first time he had heard of such a thing: "Anyone else dares to steal cattle?"

"Yes, stealing a nine-month-old calf can buy you at least five hundred dollars. You know there are always people who will take risks for money. However, this is much less common now than it used to be. ”

"Nothing like that happens with a fire mark?"

At this moment, another cow is driven into the pen, and a cowboy rolls over the clamp tightly, and Bob picks up a red-hot soldering iron and imprints the word "HA-N" on the cow's rump. A scorching smell filled the surrounding space, and the screams of the calves were a little unbearable. However, after being released from the pen, the cow seemed to run away without much to do.

While waiting for the next cow, Bob said, "At least there's a chance to get it back after it's stolen." ”

Originally, in order to sell cattle, they had to be supervised by a fire seal inspector and a certificate was issued. Otherwise, it cannot be loaded into a truck and transported out.

None of the farms' fire marks and locations need to be reported to the prosecutor for registration.

"We have to put our stamp on the arrival of the cattle as soon as possible. If it is a calf produced on its own farm, it will burn the left rump. The logo of our farm is 'HAN'. Calves purchased from the outside are determined by the position of the original brand, and if there is no brand on the right buttock, it is branded on the right rump. If there is, it is branded on the right back. The purchased cattle are marked with 'HA-N'. This allows the prosecutor to clearly identify whether a cow belongs to the ranch and whether it is homegrown or a purchased calf. ”

"After this batch of cattle is purchased, how much more will be purchased later, and when will it come?"

"That's half of this year's purchases. I plan to buy the remaining 600 heads in three batches. Bob said with a laugh. "You know, just coming out of the winter, these cows don't weigh too much, so this is the best time to buy cattle. The calves in the back will get pasture. At that time, the cow will gain weight. ”

It turns out that the price of calves is also calculated according to their weight. It's just that the unit price of this calf weight is higher than that of commercial cattle.

At this moment another cow is driven into the pen, and one cowboy will knock the cow down, and the other will remove the tag from the cow's ear, and then put Hanova's on it. Bob branded. It's a boring job.

Link looked at it for a while and said to Bob, "We've applied for organic food certification. The preliminary certification has been completed, but there is still a lot of work to be done to actually get the certification. I hope you will follow the instructions I have given you before. ”

"Although there are many drugs that cannot be used in organic food practices. But I guess there won't be a problem. I'll regulate it. ”

Link nodded and said, "Okay then." I won't bother you with your work. I'll go to the cellar!"

The last time he came, he only stayed for half a day before returning to Hans's farm, without looking at the wine being cellared. For the last two months, he has been learning how to taste wine. Although you can't be called a wine taster, you can still tell if the wine is spoiled.

He had to go to the cellar and take a bottle from each of the various wines. Even if he can't finish the tasting here today, he has time to return to Hans's farm.

And he came to Hanova Farm just by the way. His most important purpose on this trip to New Mexico was to "visit" Kent Heaney.