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Ingrained in our world history, people have been using wind energy for thousands of years. As early as 5,000 BC, wind was used to propel boats along the river Nile. In 200 BC, wind-powered water pumps were being integrated in China and windmills were grinding grain in the Middle East.
American colonists used windmills to grind grain, pump water, and cut wood at sawmills. Homesteaders and ranchers installed thousands of wind pumps as they settled the western United States. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, small wind-electric generators (wind turbines) were also widely used.
The US federal government supported research and development of large wind turbines. In the early 1980s, thousands of wind turbines were installed in California, largely because of federal and state policies that encouraged the use of renewable energy sources.
Small wind turbines were used as electricity in remote and rural areas. 1970s - Oil shortages changed the energy environment for the US and the world. The oil shortages created an interest in developing ways to use alternative energy sources, such as wind energy, to generate electricity.
In the early 2000s, Germany encouraged people to install solar panels on the roofs of their homes by rewarding them with payments, known as feed-in tariffs, for sending energy to the grid. But those have become less lucrative in recent years, making such large-scale investments less attractive.
But in homes across Germany, they are powering a quiet transformation, bringing the green revolution into the hands of people without requiring them to make a large investment, find an electrician or use heavy tools. “You don’t need to drill or hammer anything,” Ms. Berg said.
History of German feed-in tariffs in ¢/kWh for rooftop solar of less than 10 kW p since 2001. For 2016, it amounted to 12.31 ¢/kWh. Germany introduced its feed-in tariff in 2000 and it later became a model for solar industry policy support in other countries. : 145
Large power plants feed their electricity into this level and distribute it to the subordinate distribution grids, from which the electricity goes to households. In addition, the transmission grid connects the German electricity grid with those of neighbouring European countries and the European energy exchange.
A strong and highly interconnected electricity grid is one of the key flexibility assets in Germany – and Europe. No other region of the world has a comparable cross-national grid as robust, reliable and interconnected as that in Europe.
Being responsible for Germany's high-voltage grid, TSOs maintain, operate, plan and expand grid infrastructure. For example, 50Hertz Transmission — owned by Belgian company Elia Group (80%) and German state-owned KfW banking group (20%) — controls the grid in eastern Germany and parts of it in the north.
In Germany the high voltage transmission grid is largely owned by the four transmission system operators (TSOs): TenneT, 50Hertz Transmission, Amprion and TransnetBW. At the level of the distribution grids the electricity is transmitted at high, medium and low voltage. The high voltage grid is used for the primary distribution of the electricity.
