- The concept of “Windmill” has been prevalent throughout the world for ages. From as early as 200 BC simple windmills were used in China for pumping water. The Persians built windmills in the 7th century AD for milling and irrigation.
- It was by the help of this wind energy that ancient explorers took to the world and explored the unknown. The ability to harvest winds in sails determined a country’s ability to be a superpower. .
- By the 18th and 19th century, windmill had become one of the trademarks of Europe which was mainly used for milling of grain and water pumping.
- The first wind powered electricity was produced by a machine built by Charles F. Brush in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888.
- The first vertical axis wind turbine which is also known as the Darrieus turbine, was invented by George Darrieus in 1920s. The Darrieus turbine windmill is also known as the eggbeater windmill since with its two or three blades it looked like an eggbeater.
- The world’s first megawatt wind turbine which weighed 240 tons was built and connected to the power grid in Castleton, Vermont.
- The popularity of wind energy has always been directly proportional to the supply and cost of fossil fuels. During the World War II when the price of fuel came down, the wind energy lost its popularity but again in 1970s when the price of oil skyrocketed , the interest and demand of wind generated power rose to a huge extent.
- The demand and generation of wind energy increased more than fourfold between 2000 and 2006.
- When it comes to wind energy capacity, Germany tops the list followed by Spain, the United States, India, and Denmark. It is also being estimated by the experts that if this pace continues, by 2050 one third of the world’s total electricity would be created by the wind energy.
We’ll be continuing with our series of interesting facts on wind energy. So, stay tuned to this space.
Meanwhile you can check our Aurora / Power One Wind Turbine Inverters Page. If you are selecting an inverter for small wind turbines, Aurora / Power One / ABB Wind Turbine Inverters have proven to be extremely robust with conversion efficiency up to 97%.
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