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

Growian kaiser wilhelm koog germany 1980 04

Growian I and II: Germany’s Giant Failure

January 28, 2026

Paul Gipe

During the late 1970s Germany’s ministry for technological development BMFT (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) called Ulrich Hütter out of …

Growian kaiser wilhelm koog germany 1980 01

Rare Footage of Growian I and II Wind Turbines Posted

January 19, 2026

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

January 16, 2026

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.