| We have been using the energy of the wind for | | | | turbine appeared in Denmark in 1890. In the 1940s the |
| thousands of years. There were boats propelled by | | | | largest wind turbine of the time began operating on a |
| wind sailing along the Nile River in 5000 B.C. By 200 | | | | Vermont hilltop known as Grandpa's Knob. This turbine, |
| B.C., there were simple windmills in China pumping | | | | rated at 1.25 megawatts in winds of about 30 mph, fed |
| water. At the same time Persian were using | | | | electric power to the local utility network for several |
| vertical-axis windmills with woven reed sails to grind | | | | months during World War II. |
| grain. | | | | |
| People continued to find new ways of using the wind | | | | The popularity of using the wind energy has always |
| energy. By the 11th century, people in the Middle East | | | | changed with the price of fuels. When fuel prices fell |
| were using windmills extensively for food | | | | after World War II, interest in wind turbines waned. But |
| production;crusaders and returning merchants brought | | | | when the price of oil raised in the 1970s, the interest in |
| this idea back to Europe. The Dutch adapted the | | | | wind turbine in the world also increased a lot. |
| windmill and used it for draining lakes and marshes in | | | | After the oil embargoes of 1970s,new ways of |
| the Rhine River Delta. When conquerors took this | | | | converting wind energy into useful power are |
| technology to America in the late 19th century, they | | | | introduced. Many of these approaches have been |
| began using windmills to pump water for farms and | | | | demonstrated in "wind farms" or wind power plants |
| ranches, and later, to generate electricity for homes | | | | groups of turbines that feed electricity into the utility |
| and industry. | | | | grid in USA and Europe. |
| However,industrialization, in Europe and later in America | | | | Today, the lessons learned from more than a decade |
| led to a gradual decline in the use of windmills. People | | | | of operating wind power plants, have made |
| stated to use steam engines rather than windmills. In | | | | wind-generated electricity very close in cost to the |
| the 1930s, the Rural Electrification Administration's | | | | power from conventional utility generation in some |
| programs brought inexpensive electric power to most | | | | locations. Wind energy is the world's fastest-growing |
| rural areas in USA. | | | | energy source and will power industry, businesses and |
| Industrialization did not only led to the decline of using | | | | homes with clean, renewable electricity for many |
| windmill but also sparked the development of larger | | | | years to come. |
| windmills to generate electricity.The earliest wind | | | | |