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This square-mile plant, built by Thomas Edison, was America's first power plant.
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The first commercial scale hydroelectric plant goes into operation in Appleton, Wisconsin. This was a significant egineering acheivement for the time.
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This was the first nuclear power reactor built to generate energy, and it was house in a small building that still sits today in southeastern Idaho. The Experimental Breeder Reactor-I, or EBR-I, spawned what is now a huge international industry.
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The plant began operation in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, and within 3 years, would supply energy for the Pittsburgh area.
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President Ford signed this act into law, which established the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The purpose of this law was to reduce the impact of severe energy supply interruptions.
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President Carter's famous speech detailed how the US is facing an inevitable energy shortage, and warning the country that profound changes on the usage of energy needed to be made.
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Congress passes the Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen Research, Development, and Demonstration Program Act of 1990. This act's goal was to develop the means to domestically produce hydrogen power.
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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s 2007 report confirmed climate change is happening and is mostly human caused.
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This act, signed by President Barack Obama, included billions of dollars for energy investments such as grants and loan guarantees, energy efficiency programs, and renewable energy programs.
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The BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana and sank, causing a series of breaks in the oil pipeline. The pipe leaks were reported at leaking between 1,000 and 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico. Based on estimates from May 27th, as much as 30 million gallons had leaked into the Gulf, making it the largest oil spill in US History.
