Energy Through The Ages (Source for all info used in timeline: http://alternativeenergy.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000015 )
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Windmills Used by Dutch
The Dutch were the first to create the most efficient windmills to use for multiple purposes in the early 1700s. -
First US Natural Gas Well
In 1821, the first well specifically intended for obtaining natural gas was dug in Fredonia, New York. -
Law of Conservation of Energy
In 1842, Julius Robert Mayer was the first to state the law of conservation of energy by noting that heat and mechanical energy were two aspects of the same thing. -
First Commercial Oil Well
Edwin Drake used an oil well to dig for petroleum in Titusville, Pennsylvania and hit it on August 29th, 1859 which started the world's first petroleum rush. -
First Electric Plant
Thomas Edison built America's first commercial power plant near Wall Street in New York on September 4th, 1882. -
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam was completed in 1935 on the Colorado River in Arizona and was the world's largest hydroelectric power plant at the time. -
First Nuclear Power Reactor
On Dec. 20, 1951, in Idaho, a nuclear reactor produced electricity to power a string of four 100-watt lightbulbs for the first time. -
Formation of OPEC
In Baghdad, Iraq, The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was formed as a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela on September 10th-14th, 1960. -
Largest U.S. Oil Spill
On March 24th, 1989, Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound in Alaska and spilled nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil. This disaster is still the largest oil spill in to ever occur in US waters. -
Ivanpah Goes Online
Ivanpah, the world's largest concentrated solar power generation plant, went online on February 13th, 2014, in the Mojave Desert in California.
