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.

Smithputnam6041

Smith-Putnam Photos Newly Posted

By

Paul Gipe

We’ve finally posted the nearly 70 photos of the construction of the famous Smith-Putnam wind turbine of the 1940s on …

Smithputnam6041

Smith-Putnam Patents & Patent Drawings

By

Paul Gipe

While searching for an original copy of the Smith-Putnam film, Gabriel Altman came across the patents for the turbine by …

Turbine Blade With Man Sitting On It Likely Putnam

Palmer Putnam’s 1.5 MW Wind Turbine

By

Paul Gipe

This article was initially published in Today’s Engineer on May 2013 Supplying electrical power generated from wind to the commercial …

Turbine Blade With Men Standing On It

Smith-Putnam Wind Tunnel Tests

By

Paul Gipe

Prior to construction of the Smith-Putnam wind turbine Palmer Putnam ordered wind tunnel tests of various blade designs and blade …

Smithputnambladepullmanyard08

Drawings of the Airfoils Used in the Wind Tunnel Tests

By

Paul Gipe

The drawings of the airfoils used in the Stanford wind tunnel tests are in a large format. To scan and …

Smithputnambladepullmanyard10

Photos of Wind Tunnel Model Tests Smith-Putnam Air Turbine

By

Paul Gipe

Photos of Model Tests of the Smith-Putnam Air Turbine conducted under the supervision of Elliott G. Reid, Guggenheim Aeronautic Laboratory, …