Product: 20ft Modified One Trip Container

The San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm is one of three major wind farms in California, located on the Eastern slope of the San Gorgonio pass in Riverside County. This area is one of the windiest places in California. Having been studied for years, development of the wind farm was established in 1982. During the years, numerous wind turbines have become part of the natural landscape. Each turbine ranges from 80-160 feet in height.

San Gorgonio Farms, Inc. contacted us to create a space that needed to be economical and extremely secure to house the computer equipment that monitors the electrical efficiency of the wind farm. With these factors in mind, they came to the right place to house such equipment in an earth conscious way without having to pull a permit and bring in a construction crew to create a building to house the equipment.

We took a 20ft One Trip Container to be modified at our facility in Santa Fe Springs, CA. The container was insulated throughout the interior with R13 insulation and wood framing to ensure a cool temperature inside the container. We then cut into the 20ft One Trip Container a 36 inch corrugated door. We then insulated the corrugated door as well and installed a double dead bolt locking system that is safe and secure. Being that the container would essentially become the data center to monitor the power generated from the wind turbine, a heavy duty 460 volt electrical package was needed as well. Using a shipping container and adding the proper modifications ensured security and the reassurance that the sensitive equipment is kept safe in a temperature controlled environment. Containers are secure, wind and water proof, and even rodent proof.

Using Shipping containers is ideal for creating secure spaces because they are designed and prefabricated to do so. They are sealed and constructed of Corten Steel. Another perk of using a shipping container is that depending on the size of the container, any unit can be catered to your specifications. They are almost like blank canvases just waiting to be designed to the fit the eye of the beholder. It is not only a green way to build a space, but it is more economical as well. Saving you money in the long run because they tend to outlast other buildings constructed of materials besides steel. So you get more bang for your buck and less worry, knowing a reused shipping container will outlast other building options and is completely portable. If San Gorgonio decides to move the power monitoring system to a different area, all they need to do is pour another pad and move the container.

This was an amazing project because it was completely green. It was also economical in the sense that building this would have been far more expensive and probably not as secure as using other materials besides steel. We rest assure knowing we can provide secure storage solutions for wind farms that generate a substantial amount of the power to Southern California. Seeing the container go through this transformation was really interesting and we are thrilled to see another interesting use of an ISO shipping container. Thank you San Gorgonio Wind Farms Inc., We look forward to doing business with you in the future.

Author and sales representative for this project, Alex Wilson : Container Alliance awilson@containeralliance.com