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Commercial use of coal begins in Richmond, Virginia.
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During the Industrial Revolution, the economy began to focus on machines and manufacturing instead of a labor-based economy. This required all new sources of energy, including coal and oil, to be used to run the factories and mills.
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Oil is now being used in more household items, such as lamps and it is becoming more common.
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Thomas Edison was one of the first to invent and patent the use of the electric light bulb, which lead him to many more electrical inventions.
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The world's first hydropowered station produces power for a mill in Wisconsin.
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As World War I continues, the need for fuel drives up the demand for ethanol to 60 million gallons per year.
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As industry and innovation increased, the need for fuel did, too. Gasoline becomes the most commonly used and easy to access fuel.
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At the end of World War II, the first nuclear energy weapons, the atomic bombs, were dropped on Japan. This would open a new world of energy.
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Geothermal energy begins to become more popular and reaches a new electric generating capacity of 1,000 megawatts.
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The Blythe Solar Power Project will use solar energy to power over 800,000 homes with 1,000 megawatts of electricity, a step towards cleaner energy.