1. History of Wind Power
Objective: Understand the evolution of the windmill and how it was used to help mankind.

2. Drill
With a partner, decide where you would place a wind farm in Maryland and why?

3. Early “WINDMILL” in Afghanistan (900AD)
This is an example of the first known windmill. It is a Persian panemone design which can only utilize half the wind .
What was it’s function?
First windmills were found in Persia.
They were vertical axis and were used to grind grains and seeds. They were kind of like a waterwheel turned on its side. Most of the paddles were covered by a wall and wind would run through a narrow opening to push the blades.

4. Island of Crete BC
Here is an example of water pumping Sailwing machines on the Island of Crete.

5. Dutch Style Windmills used for 100s of years across the World
Many have seen the Dutch windmills. Used to grind grains, seeds, pump water, saw lumber…these were fairly sophisticated devices. Used to cover much of New England coastline.

6. Wind Energy has been Popular for a long time
The pilgrims arrived under the power of wind. Cape Cod was home to the first windmill in America. Wind helped fuel our country’s early economy.

7. Water Pumping Windmills helped settle the American West
Water pumpers were (and still are) a common site on farms in the Midwest and West. These devices pump water into a pond or cistern when it is windy and can be used at any time. Notice the blades on this device and compare them to electrical generating wind turbines are they the same or different?

8. Early Electric Wind Turbines helped Electrify Remote Farms in the early 1900’s
In 1888, Charles F. Brush invented a large wind turbine which created electricity. This enormous windmill produced enough electricity for about 10 homes. Brush’s invention was soon adapted and copied all over the world. Electricity generating wind turbines spread throughout Europe in the early 1900’s, and they soon appeared in the United States as well. In the 1930s Marcellus Jacobs producing an affordable small turbine called the Jacobs that provided electricity for homes and farms throughout rural America. However, these small American turbines faded away with the widespread installation of power lines through the end of the 1930s.

9. Birth of the Modern Wind Turbine
In response to fuel shortages, Palmer Putman was able to raise enough money to design and build a 1,250 kW wind turbine in Vermont in This was the largest turbine ever built and functioned for more than a year. But a bearing failure and lack of support (due to machinery shortages caused by WWII) caused maintenance to be overlooked. When the turbine was restarted in 1945 this lack of maintenance led to a catastrophic blade failure and the project never recovered.
California Wind Turbines 1980’s
Smith-Putnam
1.25 MW Turbine
Vermont, 1940's

10. Wind as an Energy Source
What percentage of the US energy being Consumed is Wind? What percentage is Renewable Energy?

11. Wind Energy
Wind is the fastest growing energy source in the USA

12. Wind as an Energy Source
What percentage of the US energy being Consumed is Wind? What percentage is Renewable Energy?