History of Wind Power

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.

History of Wind Power -Smith-Putnam – in North America – Internationally – Museums with Wind Exhibits – North American Open-Air Museums – European Open-Air Museums – Other Open-Air Museums

UMass Wind Furnace Photos Posted to Wikimedia Commons

July 22, 2026

Paul Gipe

In response to Peter Fairley’s excellent historical review of UMass’ Wind Furnace project in IEEE Spectrum, (See This 1976 University …

This 1976 University Experiment Spun Up the U.S. Wind Industry: A nuclear submarine veteran turned a truck axle into a turbine

July 21, 2026

Peter Fairley

Had he lived longer, the Captain would almost certainly have railed against current U.S. energy policy. The U.S. government has never backed wind power as generously as he’d hoped. Wind supplied 10 percent of U.S. generation last year—that’s half the share in Europe—with offshore turbines providing only a tiny sliver. Federal support for wind power has been in a stop-go cycle since Ronald Reagan’s administration, and it’s hit a low again under President Donald Trump, who has vowed to stop wind power cold. As Trump boasted to oil executives in January: “We have not approved one windmill since I’ve been in office, and we’re going to keep it that way.”