Energy By sighh Jan 3, 644 First vertical axis windmill recorded in Iran Aug 30, 1624 Anasazi Indians build cliff dwellings with southern exposures, providing passive solar heating and cooling Jun 27, 1841 Drilling for geothermal water at Larderello, Italy intensifies due to new methods May 29, 1866 August Mouchat, French, designs a solar food cooke Jun 27, 1890 Abel Pifre, French, designs a solar engine used to run a printing press for a paper called Le Journal Soleil Jul 29, 1904 The first geothermal powerplant is built in Laderello, Italy Mar 27, 1938 Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman, German, demonstrate nuclear fission Jun 27, 1944 The first nuclear reactor begins operation in Richland, Washington Jan 11, 1951 The first electricity producing breeder reactor is built by the Atomic Energy Commission Aug 7, 1981 First natural gas pipeline built. 120 miles long, from Indiana to Chicago Jun 29, 1998 Chicago adds hydrogen cell buses to mass transit