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500-900
AD
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The
first windmills were developed in
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about
1300
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The
first horizontal-axis windmills (like a pinwheel) appeared in
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1850’s |
Daniel Halladay
and John Burnham worked to build and sell the Halladay
Windmill which was designed for the American West. It had an open tower design and thin wooden
blades. They also started the U.S. Wind Engine Company.
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|
late 1880s |
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1888
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Charles
F. Brush used the first large windmill to generate electricity in
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1893 |
In Chicago, IL, the World's Columbian
Exposition highlighted 15 windmill companies who showcased their goods.
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Early 1900s |
Wind mills in California, pumped saltwater to evaporate ponds. This provided gold miners with salt. |
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1941
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On
a hilltop in Rutland, Vermont, "Grandpa's Knob" wind turbine
supplied power to the local community for several months during World War II. It
had 53 meter blades. It was the
Smith-Putnam wind turbine.
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1943 |
The Smith-Putnam wind turbine broke
down and the machine was shut down.
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1945 |
The Smith-Putnam machine was restarted
but small cracks in the blade caused one blade to break and the turbine was shut down forever.
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1950s |
Most windmill companies in the United States went out of business. |
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1973
|
The
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC)
oil embargo caused the prices of oil to rise sharply. High oil prices
increased interest in other energy sources, such as wind energy.
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1974 - 1982 |
With funding from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) led an effort to increase wind power technology at the
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1978
|
Congress passed the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) to encourage the use of renewable energy and cogeneration facilities (plants that have another purpose besides producing electricity). PURPA requires utility companies to buy extra electricity from renewable and cogeneration facilities that meet certain qualification, called Qualtifying Facilities (QFs). The amount that a utility pays a QF must be equal to the cost that it would have taken the utility to produce the same amount of electricity, called the "avoided cost." |
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1979 |
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1980
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The
Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act further increased tax credits for
businesses using renewable energy. The Federal tax credit for wind energy
reached 25% and rewarded businesses choosing to use renewable energy.
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1983
|
Because
of a need for more electricity,
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1985
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Many
wind turbines were installed in
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1987 | The Mod-5B was the largest single wind turbine operating in the world with a rotor diameter of nearly 100 meters and a rated power of 3.2 megawatts. |
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1988
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Many
of the hastily installed turbines of the early 1980s were removed and later
replaced with more reliable models.
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1989
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Throughout
the 1980s, DOE funding for wind power research and development declined, reaching its low point in
1989.
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1990
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More
than 2,200 megawatts of wind energy capacity was installed in
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1992
|
Energy
Policy Act - The Act called for increased energy efficiency and renewable energy use. It also authorized a
production tax credit of
1.5 cents per kilowatt hour for wind-generated electricity.
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1993
|
U.S.
Windpower developed one of the first commercially
available variable-speed wind turbines, the 33M-VS, over a period of 5 years.
The final prototype tests were completed in 1992. The $20 million
project was funded mostly by U.S. Windpower, but
also involved Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Pacific Gas &
Electric, and Niagara Mohawk Power Company.
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1995
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Mid-1990s
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1999 |
Wind generated electricity reached the 2,000 megawatt mark. |
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1999-2000
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2003 |
Installed capacity of wind-powered electricity generating equipment was 4,685 megawatts as of January 21st. |
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2004 |
Electricity from wind generation cost 3 - 4.5 cents per kilowatt hour. |
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2005 |
The
Energy Policy Act of 2005 strengthened incentives for wind and other
renewable energy sources.
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2006 |
DOE’s budget for wind subsidies was approximately $500 million dollars about 10 times as much as the 1978 level. |
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2007 |
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Last Revised: September 2008
Sources: Energy information Administration, Energy in Brief: How much renewable energy do we use?, August 2008.
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, Wind & Hydropower Technologies Program , March 2008.
American Wind Association, Wind Energy Projects Throughout the United States, March 2008.
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