A History of Solar and Wind Energy

University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2004 Alternative or traditional?: A history of solar and wind energy Nathan S. McConnell The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation McConnell, Nathan S., "Alternative or traditional?: A history of solar and wind energy" (2004). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 8504. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/8504 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Maureen and Mike MANSFIELD LIBRARY The University of Montana Permission is granted by the author to reproduce this material in its entirety, provided that this material is used for scholarly purposes and is properly cited in published works and reports. **Please check "Yes" or "No" and provide signature Yes, I grant permission No, I do not grant permissio Author’s Signature: Date: Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author’s explicit consent. 8/98 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ALTERNATIVE OR TRADITIONAL? A HISTORY OF SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY by Nathan S. McConnell B.A. University of New Mexico, 1993 J.D. Southern Illinois University, 1998 presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree o f Master of Arts The University of Montana M ay 2004 ApproVtsdhy: Flores, Chair Dean, Graduate School n . 2-0 Date / 7 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMl Number EP39305 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction Is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, If material had to be removed, a note will Indicate the deletion. UMI* Oisssirtation Ptiblistûng UMI EP39305 Published by ProQuest LLO (2013). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLO. All rights reserved. This work Is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code uest ProQuest LLC. 789 East Elsenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 - 1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract McConnell, Nathan S. M.A., May 2004 History Alternative or Traditional? A History of Solar and Wind Energy Advisor/Director; Dan Flores As the title suggests, “Alternative or Traditional?” investigates two energy resources regarded by contemporary society as belonging to the future. During the energy crises of the 1970s, many energy experts and policymakers expressed interest in solar and wind technologies, some in the United States even promised that the nation would inevitably turn to these resources. We still may. My interest in what we now refer to as alternative energy began with a successful revenue bond initiative that occurred in November 2001. The VoteSolar Initiative helped formulate Proposition B and put the measure on the ballot in San Francisco. Designed to raise one hundred million dollars to fund solar, wind, and energy conservation improvements on city-owned buildings, the initiative passed easily. From a modern perspective, it seemed as though the promise of renewable energy technologies had finally met with success. As I groped around for a thesis topic that would hold my interest, I decided to investigate the two resources that most appealed to voters, solar and wind energy. I was surprised by the findings. Solar and wind energy have a long and inadequately publicized history with humanity. This thesis attempts to alleviate this dearth of knowledge by encapsulating passive solar, active solar, and wind energy within the context of major social energy transitions. In the first chapter, I set out the energy transition stories of ancient China, early modem Britain, and the industrial United States. The next three chapters trace the long history of passive solar, active solar, and wind energy technologies, and the final chapter analyzes recent trends in the US. Two major arguments hold the work together. Solar and wind energy have long held the interest of human societies, and the world will someday run out of fossil fuels. As the US has the ability to alter its energy policy, solar and wind energy remain plausible choices for the future. 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents A b stra ct ii Introduction 1 1 From Ox Mountain to OPEC: Energy Transitions in World History 5 2 Lessons from Chaco: Passive Solar Technology 33 3 Voting as if it Mattered: VoteSolar 2001 & Solar Electricity 59 4 Son o f Wind, Ready-to-Give: Wind Energy & the Lesson o f Constancy 74 5 Ready fo r Prime Time? VoteSolar’s Role in America’s Energy Transition 103 C onclusion 125 Works Cited 128 in Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Introduction (H)istorians must turn away from John Muir and Aide Leopold and look more closely at E. F. Schumacher, Amory Lovins, Murray Bookchin, Stewart Brand, and the generation of environmentalists who struggled to craft an environmental philosophy that recognized humans “were gods, and might as well get good at it.”’ This thesis began has its genesis in challenge. Groping around for a suitable line of inquiry early in my second semester of graduate work, I had still not found a topic. Several areas piqued my interest, yet I could not find a subject that promised to hold my attention enough to produce an acceptable work, especially my first as a historian. I needed a challenge, and, thankfully, I had an advisor who implicitly understood the nature of graduate school, which is to find areas of interest that can hold a person’s attention well after graduate work is finished. Better still, my advisor assigned an article that struck me as particularly interesting. Andrew Kirk’s “Appropriating Technology” argues that modem environmentalism has its roots in a philosophy less familiar with the American naturalist ethos espoused by John Muir and Aldo Leopold and more in common with appropriate technology advocates like Amory Lovins and E. F. Schumacher.^ Kirk implicitly challenges environmental historians to bridge the gap between the overwrought antimodemist hero worship and the silence that plagues modem countercultural techies. I accept Kirk’s call, if in my own way. This ’ Kirk, “Appropriating Technology,” 376. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. thesis explores global energy transitions, solar and wind technological development, and the modern union of technology and policy in the United States. While other historians have analyzed resource consumption and environmental change generally, none has explained the longue duree view of energy transitions and alternative energy technologies within the context of modern environmental politics. This thesis explores the changing nature of solar and wind energy technology from their beginnings to applications in the early twenty-first century. While the resources themselves have not changed in the two millennia covered here, the ways that humans have harnessed the energy sources has adapted considerably, and this metamorphosis came largely due to shifting governmental policies. If any society ever adopts solar and wind energy as primary sources, it must first experience an energy transition. Abandoning familiar resources can be a difficult task, yet countless societies have adapted their energy consumption patterns. This thesis begins with an overview of three energy transition experiences that implicitly suggests the enduring character of solar and wind energy. Ancient China, early modern Great Britain, and the industrial United States all made dramatic shifts in their energy resources. The changes all include three common characteristics. First each society had an economic system in place that allowed a change to occur without upsetting government’s role as provider and protector. Next all three nations had the ability to adapt their technological expertise to the demands of new energy resources. Finally, each country had ^ Kirk, “Appropriating Tecluiology,” 376. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. political institutions in place that could balance the need for new energy sources with the demands of social stability. The following three chapters explore specific alternative energy technologies. Passive solar technology refers to the ways that humanity uses the sun’s energy for domestic heating and cooing. Beginning with architectural designs, humanity has devised a plethora of ways to harness sunlight. Within a modern context, passive solar technology’s chief benefit is energy conservation. Next I explain how

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