History of Wind Power



The first known wind turbine built in Scotland in 1887.

Professor James Blyth built a wind turbine that he would cabin in the lighting. Blyth offered surplus electricity to operate the street lighting in the area. But the people rejected his offer, saying that it was "the work of the devil."

In 1888, inventor Charles Brush built the first U.S. wind farm for his Ohio mansion. It could produce about 12 kilowatts of power.

The great advantage of wind energy is that it is clean and renewable. Electricity from wind turbines is cheaper than other sources. It is also an environmentally friendly source as it does not emit any greenhouse gases. The main disadvantages of wind power are that it requires a lot of land. Sometimes wind turbines can be noisy. The turbines have a negative impact on wildlife, especially on birds and bats.

1975: A wind turbine program started by NASA to develop usable wind turbines. This started today's turbine technology which includes steel pipe towers.

1990: About 2,500 windmills, which generated a peak of 30 megawatts. Used all over Denmark, they were mainly used to drive mechanical machines, such as pumps and mills.

2000: Global wind power capacity extends up to 17,400 megawatts.

2002: Global wind power capacity reaches 31,100 megawatts.

2005: In the United States, 226 wind farms go online, providing sufficient power for up to 2.2 million homes.

2007: Global wind power capacity reaches 93,820 megawatts.

2011: The commercial wind power rotors have a diameter of 126 meters and wind turbines are developed to a capacity of 7,500 kilowatts, about 100 times more than in the 1980s.

2013: The world's first hybrid wind / power turbine is installed off the coast of Japan.

In 2018, world wind power produced 1,270 TWh.
From the previous year, production increased by 13%.

In 2024, wind power is estimated to produce 2,130 TWh, which means 7% of the world's electricity.
Global wind power production has grown rapidly.