- Wind mills are used to drain fields in the Netherlands and to move water for irrigation in France. Improvements are gradually made to European windmills to increase the aerodynamic lift of the blades (“sails”) and raise rotor speeds, allowing for superior grinding and pumping.
| 1700s |
- Wind turbines are brought to Canada by French settlers, primarily to grind grain.
- By the late 1700s, windmills have become the “electrical motor” of pre-industrial Europe, supplying an estimated 1,500 megawatts of power in Europe (a level not reached again until the late 1980s). This wind power is used for draining lands, grinding grain, milling timber and processing commodities such as spices and tobacco.
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| 1800s |
- American homesteaders use windmills to pump water for farms and ranches — and to settle the Western frontier. Early farm windmills use blades made from simple wooden slats.
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| 1888 |
- In Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. scientist and businessman Charles Brush builds the first wind turbine to generate electricity. Measuring 17 metres tall and using 144 cedar rotor blades, it has a capacity of 12 kilowatts.
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| 1891 |
- Danish inventor Poul La Cour discovers that faster-rotating wind turbines with fewer rotor blades generate more electricity than slow-moving turbines with many rotor blades. Using this knowledge, he develops the first wind generating wind turbines to incorporate modern aerodynamic design principles. The 25-kilowatt machines use four-bladed rotors for increased efficiencies. By the end of World War I, the use of these machines has spread throughout Denmark. Later the emergence of large fossil-fuel powered steam plants in Denmark puts these wind turbine operations out of business.
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| 1920s |
- French inventor G.J.M. Darrieus develops the concept of a vertical-axis rotor. This design consists of slender, curved blades attached at the top and bottom of a rotating vertical tube.
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| 1930s |
- Thousands of small wind turbines are built in rural areas across the U.S. Great Plains. One to three kilowatts in capacity, the turbines at first are installed to provide lighting for farms and to charge batteries for crystal radio sets. Later their use is extended to power appliances and farm machinery.
- In farmsteads across Canada, windmills are used to generate electricity and pump water from wells to watering troughs for cattle.
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| 1940s |
- As fossil fuel prices fall after World War II and power grids gradually extend throughout rural areas, interest in small wind turbines falls in the U.S. and Canada.
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| 1960s |
- Inventors such as Ulrich Hutter in Germany develop advanced horizontal axis turbine designs, using fibreglass and plastic blades with variable pitch, to provide greater operating efficiencies.
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| 1971 |
- The world’s first offshore wind farm, a five-megawatt plant, begins operating off the coast of Denmark.
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| 1973 |
- The oil crisis of 1973 sparks interest in large wind turbines and prompts government-sponsored renewable energy research programs in Germany, Sweden, Canada, Great Britain and the United States. These programs trigger the development and use of new wind turbine designs, helping to cut the cost of wind power significantly over the next two decades. Throughout the 1970s, wind farms are built in the United States and Europe.
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| 1980s |
- The commercial wind turbine market evolves from a focus on small machines (one to 25 kilowatts in size) used primarily in agriculture to the development of large wind turbines (50 kilowatts or more in size) which are arranged in wind farms and connected to the power grid.
- Encouraged by government regulations and the availability of wind in mountain passes, 17,000 wind turbines, ranging between 20 to 350 kilowatts, are set up in California between 1981 and 1990.
- Wind turbine installations increase in northern Europe, encouraged by higher costs of electricity and excellent wind resources.
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| 1984 |
- On the Gaspé Peninsula, construction begins on Project Éole, the world’s largest Darrieus (vertical axis) type wind turbine. The $35-million, 110-metre high turbine is a joint venture between Hydro-Quebec and the National Research Council of Canada.
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| 1990s |
- As public concerns about environmental issues such as air pollution and climate change grow, governments in Canada and elsewhere take a greater interest in using renewable energy as a way to decrease greenhouse gases and other emissions.
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| 1994 |
- The Cowley Ridge wind plant, near Pincher Creek, Alberta, is completed, becoming the first commercial wind farm in Canada.
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| 2001 |
- Wind energy generating capacity increases 37 per cent to about 24,800 megawatts.
- India adds 300 megawatts of wind power, bringing its national wind power capacity to 1,500 megawatts.
- The United States adds 1,700 megawatts of wind power, spurred in part by federal tax credits. Wind turbine installations are built across the country, with major projects in Texas, Kansas and Oregon.
- The global wind power industry generates about $7 billion in business.
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| 2002 |
- At the end of 2002, the United States’ wind generating capacity — more than 4,600 megawatts — is concentrated in two states: California and Texas.
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| 2003 |
- At the end of 2003, the United States (with more than 6,300 megawatts) and Europe dominate the development and installation of wind power. With more than 28,000 megawatts, Europe now has 70 per cent of the world’s wind capacity, due in part to laws encouraging its growth in Germany, Denmark and Spain.
- Germany leads the world in terms of wind energy, with more than 14,000 megawatts installed. The country’s wind energy industry employs 35,000 people and supplies 3.5 per cent of the country’s electricity.
- Denmark has the world’s highest proportion of electricity generated by wind — more than 20 per cent. Danish manufacturers control nearly 40 per cent of the world wind turbine market.
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| 2004 |
- Global wind energy generating capacity exceeds 39,000 megawatts.
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