|
|
History of Wind Power Links
January 15, 2012
by Paul Gipe
This page was prompted by a technical question about early electricity-generating wind turbines in the USA. The question followed a similar question about "who was the first" to interconnect a wind turbine with an electricity network. There is a lot of confusion internationally about both subjects.
The history of wind energy is a broad subject and many have written about it. Some histories are thorough academic treatises, others are cursory overviews. There are also a number of museums worlwided that include windmills and even wind turbines in their collections. And there are a number of open-air museums where windmills and wind turbines can be seen in the field.
I've pulled together a list of sources, books, links, and museums that I know about. This list is far from comprehensive. If anyone wants to add to this list or edit this least, please do so.
A number of the entries below are reviews I've written of books that include the subject of history. The original book can usually be reached from the review.
I also have an extensive library of books on wind energy that I've collected over the years. Only a few of the books in my library are included in this list.
The following entries are in no particular order.
- Wind Energy in America: A History by Robert Righter-"The free benefit of the wind ought not be denied to any man." . .
- Paul Gipe Wind Energy Comes of Age, John Wiley and Sons, 1995 ISBN 047110924X, Chapter 3
- A Wind Energy Pioneer: Charles F. Brush, Danish Wind Industry Association--
- American Wind Charger Industry History by Craig Toepfer
- Hybrid Electric Home by Craig Toepfer--This is the kind of book I envision Mick Sagrillo diving into with its archive photos and illustrations not only of the early days of electricity but also the early days of small wind. . .
- A Bold Effort in Vermont: The 1941 Smith-Putnam wind turbine by Carl Sulzberger--This issue of the IEEE Power & Energy Magazine is the third biennial issue having wind-produced electrical energy as its theme. As with the earlier two issues, a major focus is the integration of wind power plants into electric utility systems. As such, it is fitting that our history offering describes the Smith-Putnam wind turbine that operated on the summit of Grandpa's Knob, a mountain about 12 mi (19 km) west of Rutland, Vermont, during the early 1940s. Having a capacity of 1.25 MW, it was the world's largest wind turbine at that time and among the first to deliver alternating current (ac) electrical energy into an electric utility transmission and distribution system. . .
- Reaping the Wind: How Mechanical Wizards, Visionaries, and Profiteers Helped Shape Our Energy Future by Peter Asmus a Review by Paul Gipe--Timing is everything. And Peter Asmus couldn't have better timed the release of his book about the rise and fall of California's wind industry. Just as California entered its first rolling blackouts this spring, Reaping the Wind (Island Press) entered distribution. . .
- A Field Guide to American Windmills by T. Lindsay Baker 1985--The definitive history of the American farm windmill. . .
- Windcharger.com--The purpose of this website is to provide a virtual meeting place for all people interested in the history and preservation of the wind powered battery generators known by the brand name "Wincharger" and originally manufactured in Sioux City, Iowa. . .
- Brief History of Windmills in the New World by T. Lindsay Baker is a web page written by the authority on American or "Chicago" water-pumping windmills. . .
- Wikipedia: History of Wind Power (Note. I do not vouch for the accuracy of this site. This page appears written by Anglophones and seems to have a bias toward British contributions.
- Die Geschichte der Windenergienutzung 1890-1990 (The History of Wind Energy Utilization 1890-1990) by Matthias Heymann--Like Righter in his Wind Energy in America, Heymann places the development of wind energy in its historical context, that is, within the political currents of the day. In his description of Danish development of wind energy, for example, Heymann places Poul la Cour, the Danish Edison, within the social context of the religious philosophy espoused by Grundtvig and exhibited in the folk high school movement that is still a part of the Danish cultural landscape. . .
- Wind Power The Danish Way A Review by Paul Gipe--Wind Power The Danish Way: From Poul la Cour to Modern Wind Turbines is a book written by a who's who of Danish wind power. It's a celebratory book and Danes have a lot to celebrate--a lot to be proud of. Yes, they have given the world modern wind power. But more than that, Danes have given the world another way of developing wind power too. This is often overlooked in our eagerness to talk about the growth of the technology, exciting as it is. . .
- Winds of Change: A comparative study of the politics of wind energy innovation in California and Denmark--Winds of Change by Rinie van Est is a masterly work of meticulous research that could well become a classic in its field. It should be required reading for all energy planners, and energy industry leaders alike. . .
- Windgesichter (The Face of Wind Energy) a Review by Paul Gipe--Windgesichter: Aufbruch der Windenergie in Deutschland (The face of wind: Dawn of wind energy in Germany) by Jan Oelker is a joy to behold. It's one of those rare cases where you can indeed tell a book by its cover. . . No serious library of wind energy anywhere should be without this pictorial essay of the beginning of modern wind energy in Germany. . .
- Wind-Catchers: American Windmills of Yesterday and Tomorrow by Volta Torrey 1976--This is an engagingly written history of wind energy in the United States with chapters on the Smith-Putnam wind turbine, the American water-pumping windmill, and 1970s pioneers of modern wind turbines. . .
- Winds of Change--25 years of Wind Power development--A story in photos from the years 1975 - 2000 presented by early Blade manufacturer Erik Grove-Nielsen. . .
- The International Molinological Society (TIMS)--The International Molinological Society (TIMS) is the Society which fosters worldwide interest and understanding of wind, water and animal-driven mills. . .
- Wind Power--An Illustrated History of its Development by Darrell Dodge, one of the technical writers who has covered wind energy for several decades. . .
- Review of Historical and Modern Utilization of Wind Power by Per Dannemand Anderson, RisØ--
- Danish Wind Turbine History--An authentic story about how a local community became self-sufficient in pollution free energy and created a source of income for the citizens by Jane Kruse and Preben Maegaard, Folkecenter for Renewable Energy. . .
- A propos du patrimoine lié au vent by Etienne Rogier on pages 6-20 is a brief history of wind energy in France.
- L'aérogénérateur 800 KVA BEST - Romani is devoted to the 800 kW Best-Romani wind turbine built and tested by EDF in the 1960s.
- Energie Eolienne Principes et Etudes de cas by Marc Rapin and Jean-Mark Noël, Dunod, France, 2010, 304 pages, 170x240 mm, ISBN : 9782100508013, 59 €, www.dunod.com. The book is also available electronically and includes an excellent and comprehensive history of wind energy in France, including many photographs. (I've been meaning to get a review posted for months.)
- Windmill Blade Expo at the Folkecenter for Renewable Energy in Jutland, Denmark . . .
- Showroom for historical Danish wind turbines at the Folkecenter for Renewable Energy in Jutland, Denmark--An extensive collection of nacelles from the early days of Danish wind power. . .
- Poul la Cour Museum--The place is redecorated so it resembles the original interior as much as possible. Most of the inventory is gone but several of the original test constructions are rebuilt. One of the constructions is the wind tunnel with the measuring equipment that helped la Cour design the ideal blade profile for wind turbines. . .
- Poul la Cour - the Danish Wind Turbine Pioneer--Poul la Cour, 1846-1908, is considered one of Denmark's greatest inventors and is particularly known as wind pioneer. . .
- Energimuseet Vindkraft--The museums’ exhibition on wind power has the title ‘As the wind blows’. It tells the story of how Denmark became the world’s no. one with in wind power. The history begins at Askov Højskole in 1891 with the physicist Poul la Cour also called Edison of Denmark. . .
- Danish Nationalmuseet - Open Air Museum--The Open Air Museum north of Copenhagen is one of the largest and oldest in the world. Spread across 86 acres of land today the museum houses more than 50 farms, mills and houses from the period 1650-1950. . .
- MuseumMolen--Open air museum in Noord Holland (north of Amsterdam). . .
- Germania (molen)--Platform graind grinding mill in the province of Groningen, the Netherlands. One of the nearly 1,000 windmills in the Netherlands that are periodically open to the public. . .
- Internationales Muhlenmuseum--in Gifhorn, Niedersachsen, Germany . . .
- World Heritage Site of Kinderdijk--The nineteen windmills of Kinderdijk symbolise the way in which the Dutch have managed the water with one of the world's oldest wind farms. . .
- De Vereniging Zaanse Molen--The Society of Zaan Mills was founded in 1925. Its first success was the restoration of oil mill De Zoeker. Three years later, the Mill Museum was opened. Now, 84 years later, the Society possesses 12 picturesque industrial mills and a unique museum. The mills are an important part of our cultural heritage and continue to this day to determine the Zaan skyline. . .
- Museumdorf Cloppenburg is south of Oldenburg in Niedersachsen, Germany. . .
- Nederlands Openluchtmuseum--Open Air Museum in Arnhem, Gelderland, the Netherlands. . .
- Mola - het Provinciaal Molencentrum--East Flanders windmill museum in Belgium. . .
- Fred Turner Museum in Loeriesfontein, South Africa displays 27 water-pumping windmills. . .
- Morawa District Historical Society and Museum--The small rural town of Morawa with its museum is approximately 400 kilometres north of the state capital Perth, in the northern wheatbelt of Western Australia. . . The Morawa Museum's collection of Australian made and imported windmills is steadily increasing and consists of over 40 different models in various states of restoration. . .
|
