- Though windmills are indelibly associated with the Dutch countryside, humans have used wind power since sometime between A.D. 500 and A.D. 900, according to the Illustrated History of Wind Power Development. The ancient Persians used windmills to run grain grinders and water pumps. The windmills were constructed out of reeds or wood and featured vertical sails. Eventually, windmill use spread to China and Europe. The documented use of windmills in China occurred in the year 1219. The Illustrated History of Wind Power Development says that the Dutch used windmills as early as 1390. European settlers brought this technology with them when they settled the new world, using windmills for farming jobs.
- Since the late 19th and early 20th centuries, windmills have been used to generate electricity. Charles F. Brush constructed the first windmill to produce electricity in 1888 in Cleveland. Dane Poul La Cour improved the windmill in 1891. By 1920, airplanes inspired windmill modifications; the blades resembled the propellers. Companies such as Parris-Dunn and Jacobs Wind invented smaller wind turbines with modified propellers. They provided electricity to farms in the United States and powered home appliances. The Great Depression decreased their uses in the United States, though they continued powering Europe and Australia. By the end of the 20th century, the United States again showed interest in renewable energy sources like windmills.
- Modern windmills generate electricity using wind turbines, which are a lot more slender and aerodynamic than old-fashioned windmills. Windmill blades use the wind's kinetic energy to generate electricity. Kinetic energy is the work needed to cause a resting object to move; therefore, the wind's energy caused a resting windmill blade to move. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration Energy Kids website, the wind blows over the blades, causing them to turn. The blades are connected to a drive shaft, which makes an electric generator to move. When the electric generator moves, the windmill provides electricity.
- In the 21st century, populations around the world use windmills for traditional farming practices and electricity. Windmills work better in places with high altitudes, hills, mountain gaps, open plains and shorelines. As of 2009, 35 states generate electricity using wind power, according to Energy Kids. Top wind producers in the United States include Texas, Iowa, California, Minnesota and Washington. Europe also uses wind plants to provide electricity in countries such as Denmark, Germany and Spain. Economically depressed communities in Nepal, India and African countries use windmills for traditional farming activities like milling grains and pumping water.
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