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William Hart dug a well to a depth of 27 and piped the natural gas to a nearby inn where it was burned for illumination. Soon many gas wells were drilled in the area, and the gas-lit streets of Fredonia became a tourist attraction.
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Due to coals clean and smokeless burn it became the preferred fuel in cities in America.
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George Bissell and Edwin L. Drake made the first successful use of a drilling rig on an oil well.
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Pearl Street Station, the first central power plant in the United States, began operation.
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The world's first hydroelectric power plant began operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin.
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Hoover Dam is one of the Largest Hydroelectric Dams in the World and paved the way for the massive dams of today.
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The first megawatt-size wind turbine was connected to the loca grid on a mountain in Vermont.
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Electricity was generated for the first time by a nuclear reactor at the EBR-I experimental station near Arco, Idaho, which initially produced about 100 kW.
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Bell Labs announces the invention of the first modern silicon solar cell. it has 6% efficiency.
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Solar Energy Generating Systems 1 begins operation in the Mojave desert. Subsequent additions have made it the largest solar thermal energy plant in the world.