The Historical Development of Alternative Fuel Sources

By kjhtsa
  • Jan 30, 1450

    2000 BC- Chinese First use Coal as an Energy Source

  • Jan 30, 1500

    1st Century- Chinese first refine Petroleum (oil) for use as an energy source

  • 1600s- Development of Coal Coke in England Aids Iron Production and Helps to Pave the Way for the Industrial Revolution

  • 1700s- Coal Begins to Displace Use of other Energies

  • First Steam Engine Developed in England to Pump Water out of Coal Mines

  • First Commercial Coal Production in US Begins in Richmond, Virginia

  • Process of Electrolysis Discovered

  • First Natural Gas Well in the US is drilled

  • Coal Becomes Primary Locomotive (Train) Fuel in US, Displacing Wood

  • 1800s- Ethanol Blend Becomes Popular Lamp Fuel in US, Displacing Whale Oil

  • First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Developed to Generate Electricity

  • 1850s- Windmill Becomes Popular Water Pumping Tool of Western Homesteaders and Railroad Builders

  • First Solar Power System Developed in France to Produce Steam to Drive Machinery

  • John D. Rockefeller forms Standard Oil and Develops Petroleum as a Major Energy Source in the US

  • First Demonstration of Generating Electricity Directly from Sunlight in a Selenium Solar Cell

  • First Electric Plant Built by Thomas Edison in NY

  • First Commercial Scale Hydroelectric Plant Goes into Operation in Appleton, Wisconsin

  • First Windmill to Generate Electricity Developed in Cleveland, Ohio

  • World’s First Geothermal District Heating System Built in Boise, Idaho

  • First Diesel Engine to Run on Vegetable Oil Demonstrated at World's Fair in Paris

  • Birth of the Modern Oil Industry: Lucas Gusher and the Discovery of Texas' Vast Spindletop Oil Field

  • World’s First Flex Fuel Vehicle, the Ford Model-T, Goes into Mass Production

  • World's First Geothermal Power Plant Is Built in California

  • First Commercial Wind Turbines Sold to Generate Electricity on Remote Farms

  • Hoover Dam, the World's Largest Hydroelectric Power Plant, Is Built

  • First Federal Law Established to Control Pollution from the Oil Industry

  • First Controlled Nuclear Chain Reaction

  • Petroleum Becomes Most Used Fuel in the US

  • First Nuclear Power Reactor to Generate Electricity Built in Idaho

  • First Commercial Nuclear Power Plant Begins Operation in Shippingport, Pennsylvania

  • First US Satellite in Orbit Utilizes Solar Cells for power

  • 1960s- General Electric (GE) Develops Hydrogen Fuel Cells to Generate Electricity for Apollo and Gemini Space Missions

  • Oil production peaks in lower 48 states

  • Federal Involvement in Wind Energy Development Advances Wind Energy Technology

  • World's First Solar Powered Village; Tohono O'odham Reservation, Arizona

  • World's First Wind Farm Built in New Hampshire

  • Construction Begins on the World's Largest Wind Farm in California's Altamont Pass; Bird Deaths from Wind Turbines Number in the Thousands

  • Largest Nuclear Accident Ever Takes Place at Chernobyl in the Former Soviet Union

  • Exxon Valdez Disaster in Alaska Becomes the Largest Oil Spill in US Waters

  • US House Prevents Drilling for Oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

  • Worst Coal Ash Spill in US History in Kingston, Tennessee

  • BP Oil Rig Explodes & Causes Largest Oil Spill in US History

  • President Obama Announces Clean Power Plan, Imposing the First Nationwide Limits on Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Plants