News & Articles on History of Wind Power
This page was prompted by a technical question about early electricity-generating wind turbines in the United States. 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. 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 list, please do so.
A number of the entries below are reviews I’ve written of books that include the history of wind energy. The original book can usually be reached from the review. Other news items are relevant to the history of wind turbine development.
Rare Footage of Growian I and II Wind Turbines Posted
By
Paul Gipe
I’ve extracted rare footage of Growian I and II wind turbines from a promotional video by Nordex. The footage from …
Films and Videos of Historic Wind Turbines from 1925 to the Present
By
Paul Gipe
I’ve uploaded a series of films on historic wind turbines in operation to the Internet Archive. To help me keep track of them, I’ve posted the links and a short summary here. I’ve included some films in this list that are on YouTube.com as the provenance isn’t clear. Of course videos of operating wind turbines are quite common now, so I am limiting this list to those of historic interest.
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Koog 2025 Update
By
Paul Gipe
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Koog is famous in the annals of wind energy. The polder in Schleswig-Holstein’s Dithmarshen kreis hosted Germany’s first wind farm …
Pintles, Kingpins, & Slewing Rings: The Evolution of Yaw
By
Paul Gipe
While researching material for an article on the 100 kW Soviet wind turbine at Balaklava, Etienne Rogier sent me an …
Testing the Dowsett Wind Turbine on the Isle of Man in the 1960s
By
Paul Gipe
Were there two wind turbines tested on South Barrule on the Isle of Man in the early 1960s, not just …
The Book Wind Energy Comes of Age Put in the Public Domain
By
Paul Gipe
Thirty years after its publication by John Wiley & Sons, I’ve put Wind Energy Comes of Age in the public domain. The digital copy of the more than 500-page book is now open access and is available for reading on line or it can be downloaded in its entirety for free. You can find the open access digital version here: Wind energy comes of age by Paul Gipe. Print copies can still be found at used bookstores or in university libraries.
