A brief summary of the attempts to develop large wind-electric generating systems in the U.S.

Interest in developing large wind-electric generating systems in the United States was stimulated primarily by one man, Palmer C. Putnam. He was responsible for the construction of the largest wind-power system ever built - the 1250 kilowatt Smith-Putnam wind-electric plant. The existence of this system prompted the U.S. Federal Power Commission to investigate the potential of using the winds as a source energy. Also, in 1933 prior to Putnam's effort, there was an abortive attempt by J. D. Madaras to develop a wind system based on the Magnus effect. These three projects comprise the only serious efforts in America to develop large wind driven plants. In this paper, the history of each project is briefly described. Also discussed are some of the reasons why wind energy was not seriously considered as a major source of energy for the U.S.