-
Alexandre Edmond discovers that sunlight can be used to make energy
In 1839 Alexandre Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect which explains how electricity can be generated from sunlight. www.energymatters.com.au/panels-modules/ -
First commercial arc lighting system installed
First commercial arc lighting system installed, Cleveland, Ohio. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_Allan_PeltonWikipedia -
The first all steel windmill is invented
The first all-steel windmill and tower was produced by the United States Wind Engine & Pump Co. The first electricity-generating wind turbine was invented in 1888 in Cleveland, Ohio by Charles F. Brush. www.thirdplanetwind.com/energy/history.aspx -
Geothermal energy is invented
In 1904, Italian scientist Piero Ginori Conti invented the first geothermal electric power plant in which steam was used to generate the power. www.conserve-energy-future.com/GeothermalEnergyHistory.php -
Hoover Dam was built
it was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. www.history.com/topics/hoover-dam -
Nuclear fission was invented
in 1938, two German scientists, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman and physicist Lise Meitner of Austria, discovered that they could split the nucleus of a uranium atom by bombarding it with neutrons, this is called fission. As the uranium nucleus split, some of its mass was converted to heat energy. www.fplsafetyworld.com/?ver=kkblue&utilid=fplforkids&id=16205 -
Chicago pile built
Chicago Pile-1 was the world's first nuclear reactor to achieve criticality. Its construction was part of the Manhattan Project, the Allied effort to create atomic bombs during World War II. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pile-1 -
Three Gorges Dam constructed
Except for a ship lift, the dam project was completed and fully functional as of July 4, 2012,[9][10] when the last of the main water turbines in the underground plant began production. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Gorges_Dam -
Largest windmill farm in the world created
Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC), also known as Mojave Wind Farm, is the second largest onshore wind energy project in the world. It is owned by Terra-Gen Power, an affiliate of Arclight Capital Partners and Global Infrastructure Partners. http://www.power-technology.com/projects/alta-wind-energy-center-awec-california/ -
World's largest solar plant opens
BrightSource’s solar thermal system is operating at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) in California’s Mojave Desert. Ivanpah, which began commercial operation in 2013, is delivering power to PG&E and Southern California Edison. The project is currently the largest solar thermal power plant in the world. Ivanpah was constructed by Bechtel and is operated by NRG Energy, one of the project's equity investors. http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/ivanpah-solar-project#.VrP9PFWrT9g