Timeline of Energy Use in the US By veda.inamdar18 Jan 1, 1821 First natural gas well is drilled in US Jan 1, 1838 First hydrogen fuel cell developed to generate electricity Jan 1, 1850 Windmill becomes popular water pumping tool of Western homesteaders and Railroad builders Jan 1, 1850 Coal energy used to power trains Jan 1, 1875 Coal and oil power plants used to provide energy for growing factories Mar 1, 1876 First demonstration of generating electricity directly from sunlight in a solar cell Sep 4, 1882 First electric plant built by Edison in New York Jan 1, 1891 First natural gas pipeline built Jan 1, 1921 World's first geothermal power plant is built in California Jan 1, 1930 Nuclear Power Discovered
