2010: Alta Wind Energy Center

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Innovation:  Alta Wind Energy Center
Location: Kern County, CA
Year:  2010
By: Terra-Gen Power

Alta Wind Energy Center is a wind farm located near the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, California. It has a combined installed capacity of 1020 MW and a maximum capacity of 3000 MW, but its annual production is approximately 1,548 MW, making it the largest wind farm in the United States [confirmed 2021].  [1] The Center could generate energy for 600,000 homes in the Southern California area, and in 2006, before construction even started, Southern California Edison agreed to but 1,550 megawatts over 25 years, which is one of the largest power purchase agreements ever. [2]

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2009: AutoCAD 2010 with parametrics introduced

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Innovation:  AutoCAD2010 with parametrics introduced
Location: California, USA
Year:  2009
By: AutoDesk

AutoCAD 2010 was important to Architectural Engineers because of a new feature introduced called parametric drawing. Parametric drawing allows the user to program constraints to lines. These constraints could include, but aren’t limited to:  staying the same length as another line, staying parallel or perpendicular to another line, or staying connected to a certain point on a shape. Constraints can be very useful in helping to meet the design requirements. [1]