Energy in the U.S.

Hirstory of energy in the US

Period: Jun 21, 1600 to Jun 21, 2012

First Water wheel in America

Jun 21, 1643

First water wheel in America was invented by John Pearson in Pennsylvania in 1643.

Ben Franklin electricity experiment

Jun 21, 1750

Ben Franklin ties key to kite to act as a lightning conductor.

First Oil well in US

Jun 21, 1814

FIrst oil well was discovered by settlers in Caldwell, Ohio looking for salt. They had no use for the oil.

First Natural Gas well in US

Jun 21, 1815

Captain James Wilson hits a natural gas pocket and creates an explosion, in West Virginia.

Coal is used to power steam locomotives

Jun 21, 1836

In Baltimore in 1836 the first steam locomotive was made in America, it ran on coal. Originally called the Andrew Jackson.

First wind power in America

Jun 21, 1888

The world's first automatically operated wind turbine was built in 1888 by Charles F. Brush. It was 60 feet tall with a diameter of 56 feet, weighed 80,000 pounds and had a 12kW dynamo.

Electric cars in America

Jun 21, 1897

In 1897 the first electric cars were put on the streets on New York, but eventually were beat out by gas fueled cars.

First gasoline car

Jun 21, 1908

The Model T Ford was the first car to run on gas, it had a 10 gallon tank for fuel. It was in production from 1908 to 1927.

Solar energy

Jun 21, 1954

The first silicon solar collector was made in 1954.

Geothermal energy

Jun 21, 1960

The first commercial geothermal power plant producing power to the U.S. utility grid opened at The Geysers in California in 1960, producing eleven megawatts of net power

Electric and Hybrid cars

Jun 21, 2005

Electric and Hybrid cars are now starting to make a reappearance in the last 10 years and are growing more popular.