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Coal
Coal was found by Hugent Settlers on the James River in Richmond, Virgina. -
Oil
The first oil well in US is drilled at Titusville, Pennsylvania by Colonel Edwin Drake. -
Electricity
Edision invents the lightbulb. -
Hydroelectrcity
Michigan's Grand Rapids Electric Light and Power Company, generating electricity by dynamo, belted to a water turbine at the Wolverine Chair Factory, lit up 16 brush-arc lamps. -
Solar
Charles Fritts, an American inventor, described the first solar cells made from selenium wafers. -
Wind Power
Professor Charles F. Brush builds a 12kW wind turbine to charge 408 batteries stored in the cellar of his mansion. The turbine, which ran for 20 years, had a rotor diameter of 50m and 144 rotor blades -
Hydroelectricity
San Bernardino, Ca., first hydroelectric plant in the west. -
Solar
Baltimore inventor Clarence Kemp patented the first commercial solar water heater. -
Hydroelectic
First large-scale hydroelectric power plant made by Tesla's work at Niagara Falls, NY. -
Electricity
General Electric company built the first alternative current power plant at Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania. -
Wind Power
The first vertical axis wind turbine, the Darrieus turbine, is Invented by Frenchman George Darrieus who in 1931 patented it in the US. The design, often referred to as the "eggbeater windmill", due to the appearance of its two or three blades, is still used today. -
Geothermal
The first commerical greenhouse use of geothermal energy is undertaken in Boise, Idaho. -
Wind Power
The world's first megawatt wind turbine is built and connected to the power grid in Castleton, Vermont. The turbine has 75-foot blades and weighs 240 tons -
Solar
Solar power became popular among many people in the United States during WW2 and supplies were in high demand. -
Electricity
The country's first large-scale electricity-generating plant begins operation at Gysers. -
Electricity
Ed Hammer, a retired General Electric engineer invented the compact fluorescent lightbulb while working at the company in the 1970s. -
Solar
The US government embraced the use of solar energy by launchingthe Sloar Energy Research Insitute, others soon followed. -
Wind Power
In 1981 in Washigton and Hawaii the 7.5mW Mod-2 is build by Nasa, followed in 1987 by the 3.2mW, two-blade wind turbine Mod-5B. Both turbines break records for diameter and energy output. -
Solar
The largest solar power facility in the Northwest—the 38.7-kilowatt White Bluffs Solar Station—goes online in Richland, Washington. -
Hydroelectricity
About 7% of U.S. electricity comes from hydropower. Today, there is about 80,000 MW of conventional capacity and 18,000 MW of pumped storage.
