-
Steam Engine Patented
James Watt patents the steam engine in 1769. In early steam engines, coal was used to produce the steam that powered them. -
Period: to
Timespan of Energy Use in the US
-
First Commercial Oil Well Drilled
After this evernt, kerosene begins to become a more popular lamp fuel for the US. -
First Solar Energy Conversion
For the first time in recorded history, Auguste Mouchout succeeds in converting solar radiation into mechanical power. -
First Electric Plant Built
Thomas Edison builds the first electric plant in New York. -
A.C. Generators Developed
Nikola Tesla creates Alternating Current generators that allow the transmission of energy across longer distances. -
First Commercial Greenhouse Use of Geothermal Energy
Undertaken in Boise, Idaho, the operation utilized a well dug in 1926 that was a little under half a mile deep. -
First Controlled Nuclear Chain Reaction
At the University of Chicago, working under the alias of "The Manhattan Project", physicist Enrico Fermi and his team achieved a controlled nuclear reaction. -
Nuclear Power Reactor Generates Electricity
In Idaho, the first nuclear power reactor to generate electricity is built. The amount of power produced was tiny, but it was a massive achievement at the time. -
The Environmental Protection Agency is Created
-
More Biodiesel Plants Scheduled to be Built
AGRA Biofuels plans to build no less than eleven biodiesel plants in Pennsylvania in the near future.
