Tom Spiglanin shared interests in windmills and Tom’s career transition from aerospace to public education on ERENEWABLE and The Green Insider Podcast:
- Career Transition and Windmill Tours: Tom Spiglanin, now the Director of Education at the Palm Springs Windmill tours, shared his transition from aerospace to public education, highlighting the complexity of wind machines and the challenges of explaining their energy generation to the public.1
- Evolution and Efficiency of Wind Turbines: Tom discussed the evolution of wind turbines, from early failures to the transition from downwind to upwind designs, and the current state of turbines equipped with embedded controllers that optimize energy output.2
- Wind Farm Operations and Renewable Energy Progress: Tom revealed details about his wind farm’s operations, its significant contribution to California’s renewable energy, and the state’s goals to decarbonize its grid by 2045 with a focus on renewable energy sources and battery storage
More about Tom
Dr. Thomas Spiglanin (Tom) is the Director of Education at Palm Springs Windmill Tours. He focuses on explaining electrical distribution, storage, and production from the wind, sun, geothermal, natural gas, and other sources to the public. He uses a variety of media, including video, audio, informational wall displays, interactive digital media, exhibit signage, and guided tours, occasionally leading the latter himself.
Tom assumed his position in 2020 after retiring from a science and technical education career with The Aerospace Corporation for over 33 years. His last role was overseeing the peer-to-peer training program for the company that supports national security space, helping experts teach their knowledge to others, each of whom may have tremendous expertise in unrelated fields. In this role, he learned the value of communicating complex concepts in ways others can understand.
Tom is excited about the future of renewable energy, now being spurred by grid-scale energy storage that will help reduce national dependence on fossil fuels that are increasingly more expensive.
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