| With the increased costs of energy derived | | | | 1850 to 1970 more than 6,000,000 windmills |
| from fossil fuels, many consumers are | | | | were installed in the United States. The main |
| interested in alternative sources of energy. | | | | application was pumping water for livestock |
| Unfortunately the market trend tells us that | | | | and providing farm homes with a water |
| little to no relief in oil prices is in | | | | supply.In the late 19th Century, the first |
| sight. A great source of power can be | | | | windmill to generate electricity was born! |
| harnessed from the wind using electricity | | | | This was the Brush postmill in Cleveland |
| generating windmills. Below is a brief | | | | Ohio, and the year was 1888! The rotor was |
| history of wind power, and how it came to | | | | approximately 17 meters in diameter. This |
| be.Wind power has been harnessed for many, | | | | windmill had a gearbox with a high spin ratio |
| many years. Nobody knows for sure when man | | | | attached to a DC generator.By the middle |
| started using the wind's power to grind flour | | | | 1920's, several small scale systems were |
| or pump water, but it is thought that the | | | | found across the Midwestern plains and used |
| first windmill appeared in the Persian | | | | to supply farms with electricity. These |
| region. From there this windmill technology | | | | systems generally had a 1 to 3 kilowatt |
| spread back to northern Europe. Windmills | | | | output.1941 saw the largest wind generator to |
| crafted by the Dutch were used primarily to | | | | date. This generator's capacity was 1.25 |
| pump water.Windmills were definitely not the | | | | megawatts. It was known as the Smith-Putnam |
| first structures to harness the wind. This | | | | machine. The rotor measured an astonishing |
| award belongs to the sailboat. More than | | | | 175 feet in diameter.Today, many wind |
| likely, founded in small scale (small canoe | | | | turbines are in operation from small scale |
| with an animal skin as a sail) the sailboat | | | | residential systems that are affordable to |
| became the only way to cross large areas of | | | | the homeowner to large scale wind turbine |
| water. The sailboat evolved into large ships | | | | farms that are used to supply a large amount |
| moving great distances by using only wind as | | | | of electricity to utility customers.For more |
| a source of power.Windmills on a smaller | | | | information on wind power, visit us online at |
| scale showed up in America in the mid 19th | | | | is one of the alternative energy sites Will |
| Century. The Aermotor and Dempster design | | | | Reece owns and operates. Please visit us |
| were invented and many are still in use. From | | | | today! |