How It All Began Mick Sagrillo copyright 1992 Mick Sagrillo Many of us wind freaks feel pretty smug about having what we think is the first wind generator in the neighborhood. I mean, we're energy pioneers after all, aren't we? What most don't realize is that wind power isn't a new idea. History I don't mean using the wind to pump water or grind grain. I'm talking about wind-generated electricity! A half century ago, literally millions of American families across the Midwest, the Great Plains, and the West depended solely on the wind for their electricity. The history of wind generated electricity for the homeowner in the United States is a fascinating one. The idea for using wind power to generate electricity dates back to the 1860s in England. While many experimenters dabbled with wind-electric generators in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was not until after the Great War that wind power really took off in this country. It began with, of all things, the airplane and the radio. Wheels vs. Props Early wind generators didn't look like they do today. They resembled the water pumping windmill that still dots the countryside and makes for picturesque calender photos. The waterpumper "wheel", the part that rotates in the wind, was the state of technology at the turn of the century. The arrival of the airplane with its sleek looking propeller changed the way people thought about converting the wind into rotating mechanical motion. The airplane propeller and the wind generator blade spin by converting the air that passes over that blade (i.e., the air foil), into a force known as "lift". It is lift that causes the blade to move. (We're getting into a future article here.) Waterpumper wheels are very inefficient when matched to a generator, although they do a great job when attached to pumps. Because of this fact, wind generators incorporating the traditional looking wheel didn't produce a great deal of electricity. Still the decades of the teens and 20s saw manufacturing offering wind generators driven by wind wheel. In fact, they were hard to distinguish from their waterpumper cousins. At least one clever manufacturer, George Manikowske of the Aerodyne Company, offered a wind machine that could pump water and generate electricity at the same time! The late 1920s hosted a flurry of activity by experimenters trying to adopt an airplane-type of propeller to the wind generator. Airfoils are far more efficient than waterpumper wheels. In addition, the power curve of a spinning airfoil closely resembles that of an electric generator. It turns out that a wind generator blade is actually mirror image of an airplane prop. Technical articles began appearing in the scientific journals speculating on the advantages of airfoils over wheels. By 1931, the first patent was issued to Harve Stuart for what became known as the "Stuart (wind generator) Airfoil". Wind generators would never again be confused with waterpumpers. The Radio Farmers and ranchers of seventy years ago were dependent upon the "wireless" as their most reliable source of daily news and market reports. Particularly isolated were those living across the Great Plains, where cities were few and far between. At that time, most rural newspapers were weeklies, at best. Ironically, the Great Plains is the largest windy area of the continental United States. The "people's" radio of the time was the crystal set. It was small and expensive. However, crystal sets were not very powerful, and generally, only one person could listen at a time. The early twenties saw two major advances in radio: the development of inexpensive vacuum radio tubes and the birth of the radio industry as a method of mass communication. The widespread commercialization of vacuum- tube radios was one of the few good things to come out of World War 1. Dissatisfied with the poor performance and low volume of crystal radio sets, many people turned to the battery powered vacuum-tube radios. Depending on battery size, a vacuum-tube radio could be operated from a few hours to a week before the battery would need recharging. When the battery was drained it was time for a trip to town to have it recharged by a gasoline powered generator. This service was offered by another fledgling industry, the automobile repair shop/general store. Because of the high demand for this service and time required for recharging, it was necessary to leave the battery in town for a few days. During this time, the farm family had no battery to operate their radio. All of this occurred during the time of the Great Depression, and not everyone was well-off enough to afford the luxury of a second battery. An Industry is Born... Enter the six volt wind generator! These small units provided the necessary electricity to keep the radio battery continuously charged, often with some power to spare. It was a small step from the wind- powered radio to wind powered lights. Electric lights first illuminated the chicken coop, then the barn, the kitchen, the parlor and finally, the workshop. Battery powered lights were seen as being far safer and convenient to use than the kerosene lamps that they replaced. The development of "radio chargers" proved to be wildly successful. One irresistible bargain was offered through the collaborative effort of the Windcharger Corporation and the Zenith Radio Corporation. Any farmer who purchased a Zenith Farm Radio received a coupon good for $19.50 off the purchase price of a $27.50 utility model Windcharger. The utility model Windcharger could be had for only $10! Better yet, the $44.50 deluxe model Windcharger could be had for a mere $15. Either offer represented a 66% discount during the hard times of the Depression Era. Needless to say, six volt Windchargers and Zenith Farm Radios became very hot items across the Great Plains. By 1938 Windcharger had sold an estimated 750,000 of their wind generators world wide. Wind powered lights and radio programs proved to be so successful that farm families were soon demanding more. The little, six-volt "Radio Chargers" were replaced by larger 32-volt generating plants. Wind generator companies began springing up all over the United States. The list of manufacturers included Windcharger, Jacobs, Parris Dunn, Airlite, Hebco, Allied, Wind Power, Aerodyne, Nelson, Aircharger, Ruralite, Kelco, Air Way, and Wind Wing. Many of these companies would merge over the decades. And Grows... Some companies offered all the conveniences of the city with a complete line of 32 volt DC appliances. Virtually all the electrical appliances we have at hand today were available to the 1930s/1940s farm household. In the kitchen were mixers, toasters, hot plates, coffee pots, electric irons and refrigerators. Over in the parlor was the vacuum cleaner, fan, sewing machine, and, of course, the radio. Bedrooms held electric blankets, heating pads, and hot water bottles. Those families fortunate enough to have indoor plumbing could indulge themselves with electric shavers, curling irons, and space heaters. In the summer kitchen were cream separators, butter churns, and the ever popular washing machine. Electric milkers and sheep shears were used in the barn. Electric drills, grinders, and saws could be found in the workshop. All of these appliances ran on 32 volt DC electricity! Wind electric systems, appliances and tools were made available to the rural populace by such mail order firms as Sears and Roebuck, Montgomery Wards, and the Delco (Light Plant) Company. These wind systems and appliances were so sought after that they were occasionally given away as a grand prize on "Queen For A Day". Success didn't come from just the farm family. The Jacobs Wind Company found a niche with the gas pipeline companies of Oklahoma and Texas. Jacobs sold a wind generator called the "cathodic plant", which sent a continuous trickle of current through the gas pipelines. This current reversed the natural polarity of metal in contact with soil, thereby eliminating the electrolysis and corrosion of the buried pipelines. This unusual use of wind power helped the Jacobs Wind Electric Company sell $75 million worth of wind generators by the time it ceased operation in 1957. The End is Near The Roosevelt Administration, responding to the growing need for electricity in "the West", and looking for ways to pull the country out of the Depression, worked hard for the passage of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. The heart of the Act was the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) which would oversee low interest loans to rural electric cooperatives. One primary goal of the REA was to bring cheap utility power to every populated corner of the United States by subsidizing the stringing of power lines along virtually every country road. The REA would also "create jobs" (sound familiar - some things never change!!!) by employing thousands of workers to carry out the scheme. The REA was successful beyond anyone's belief. However, the passage of the REA signaled the death knell for a rapidly developing wind industry. The wind industry survived for another two decades, but eventually succumbed to the convenience of utility power by the mid 1950s. As is still true today, most utilities and electric cooperatives viewed wind electric generators as a competitive threat. Because of this attitude, utilities and co-ops refused to provide utility power to farms that were serviced by working wind generators. The quick fix was to use a high-powered rifle to put the wind generator out of commission. Many were pushed off their towers and sold to scrap dealers, or disassembled and left to die an ungraceful death at the hands of the elements. Some of these machines were carefully removed from their towers and stored in sheds and barns. These were the wind generators that were highly sought after during the second "discovery" of wind power in the early '70s. To those who caught the "fever", these were the machines that catapulted some tinkerers and entrepreneurs to the fame and fortune they strive for in today's wind industry. Access Mick Sagrillo seeks fame and fortune at Lake Michigan Wind & Sun, 3971 E. Bluebird RD., Forestville, WI 54213 ¥ 414-837-2267