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The First Steam Engine
In 1712, the first Steam Engine was developed to pump water out of coal mines. Thomas Newcomen was the inventor in England who created this machine to replace manual labor with a machine. -
The First Natural Gas Well
In 1825, the first natural gas well was drilled in the United States. The first well was located in Fredonia, New York, and the first person to drill a natural gas well was William Hart. Natural Gas was then used as a source of light. -
Coal Replaced Wood as Primary Locomotive Fuel
The first commercially American-built locomotive, the Tom Thumb, was manufactured in 1830. Unlike all other American locomotives that burned wood, the Tom Thumb burned coal for fuel. Coal proved to be much more efficient than wood, and from that point on, all locomotives began using coal as their energy source. -
Tax on Ethanol
In 1862, Abraham Lincoln enacted a tax on Ethanol to help finance the Civil War. At the time, ethanol was one of the nation's best-selling chemicals, but following this tax, Industrial and fuel ethanol disappeared for 45 years -
Generating Electricity from Sunlight
In 1876, William Grylls Adams and his student, Richard Evans Day, discovered that selenium, a solid material, produced electricity when exposed to light. Following this discovery, selenium solar cells failed to convert enough sunlight to power electrical equipment, but William Grylls Adams and Richard Evans Day proved that a solid material could change light into electricity without the use of heat and without moving parts. -
America's First Power Plant
September 4, 1882 at 3:00 pm, Thomas Edison turned a switch in New York which started up America's first power plant. No longer was illumination by gaslight, but now electric power would light up America. -
First Windmill to Generate Electricity
In the year of 1888, the first windmill to generate electricity was developed. Charles Brush, an engineer, built a windmill in Cleveland with a 60 foot tower and a 56 foot rotor. This windmill generated 12kWh of natural energy. -
World's First Geothermal District Heating System
In 1892, Boise, Idaho was the first to come up with a district heating system using geothermal energy. Within a few years, this system warmed 200 homes and 40 businesses. -
First Engine to use Biofuel
Rudolf Diesel was the creator of the first engine to use biofuel, he is who Diesel Gasoline is named after. On August 10, 1893, in Augsburg, Germany, Rudolph Diesel showed the first biofuel car engine and since then, August 10 has been coined as International Biodiesel Day. -
First Nuclear Power Reactor to Generate Electricity
On December 20, 1951, the first Nuclear Power Reactor generated electricity. This took place in Idaho, and although the amount of electricity generated was minimal, the staff members of Argonne National Laboratory, who designed the reactor were proud.
