HISTORY OF WIND ENERGY

Wind energy has been used for centuries to move ships, pump water and grind grain. Wind energy propelled boats along the Nile River as early as 5,000 B.C. By 200 B.C., simple windmills were pumping water in China, while vertical-axis windmills with woven reed sails were grinding grain in Persia and the Middle East.

In the 12th century, windmills appeared in France and England and quickly spread throughout Europe, most famously in Holland. Windmills existed throughout Asia at the same time. Early windmill structures were made of wood and were often rotated by hand or oxen to augment the energy from the wind.

Using wind to generate electricity is a more recent idea. Windmills were first adapted for creating electricity in the late 19th century. One of the first windmills was designed by Charles F. Brush of Cleveland, Ohio in 1888. The Brush machine used a picket-fence rotor that was 56 feet in diameter and featured a hinged tail to align the rotor into the wind. While not the first windmill to produce electricity, it was the first windmill to incorporate a step-up gearbox to more efficiently harvest the wind.

The technological advances of fossil fuel driven power technologies and industry during the industrial revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries caused wind power to fall out of favor in the early 20th century. However, the sharp oil price spikes of the 1970s, along with the growing realization of the environmental costs of burning fossil fuels, has rekindled interest in wind energy technology and its applications.

Click here to view the American Wind Energy Association's U.S. Wind Power Industry Timeline