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The first horizontal windmills appear in Western Europe around 1300.
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The term electricity is termed by Englishman William Gilbert. Electricity comes from the word electron. Gilbert also coined the terms electric force, magnetic pole and electric attraction.
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Benjamin Franklin ties a key to a kite during a thunderstorm to prove that static electricity and lightening were the same thing.
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Mathematics instructor, Auguste Mouchout, converts solar radiation directly into mechanical power.
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Michigan's Grand Rapids Electric Ligh and Power Company generates DC electricity using hydropower at the Wolverine Chair Factory.
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Hydropower was beginning to be used for electricity in the years 1880-1895.
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Charles F. Brush uses the first large windmills to generate electricity in Cleveland, Ohio.
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The first dry steam geothermal power plant is built in Laderello in Tuscany, Italy.
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Because energy was scarce during World War II, passive solar buildings become popular in the United States.
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PURPA was enacted to promote greater use of renewable energy, cogeneration and small power projects.
