The History of Energy in the U.S.

USA’s energy needs and sources have transformed over the past century. Here’s a look back at the history of energy in this country, and a sneak peek at the future. (Spoiler alert: It’s exciting!)

black and white image of the first power plant in the US showing the history of energy

Photo credit: https://energystory,org

1882

First Power Plant in the U.S.

Photo credit: https://energystory,org

The very first commercial power plant in the U.S. was Pearl Street Station, located in Manhattan.

Pearl Street Station began operations on September 4, 1882, just a few months after the world’s first power station began operations in London, UK.

Initially, the coal-fired station served 82 customers and 400 lamps.

history of energy black and white image of first hydroelectric power plant

Photo credit: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

1882

First Hydroelectric Power Plant in the World

Photo credit: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Only a few weeks later, on September 30th, 1882, the world’s first commercial hydroelectric power plant began operations in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Vulcan Street Station had an initial capacity of 12.5 KW. It served a small number of commercial and residential buildings.

first nuclear power plant picture in black and white showing the history of energy

Photo credit: Exelon Corporation

1960

First Nuclear Power Plant in the U.S.

Photo credit: Exelon Corporation

The first fully operational commercial nuclear power station was Unit 1 of Dresden Station in Illinois. It started up on July 4, 1960 with an initial capacity of 192MW.

While Unit 1 is no longer in use, Dresden Station is still up and running to this day.

evolving history of energy into solar fields showing the latter

Photo credit: http://wolfeware.com/solar/history.html

1982

First Utility Scale Solar Facility in the World

Photo credit: http://wolfeware.com/solar/history.html

The first commercial solar generation facility, Arco Solar at Lugo, was built in Hesperia, CA. It became operational in late 1982.

The facility, which was built and owned by the oil and gas company Arco, had a capacity of 1 MW.

It is now decommissioned.

Today

Virtual Power Plant

The future is now.

OhmConnect is building North America’s largest distributed clean power plant, which links together hundreds of thousands of homes in California to save more than 550 Megawatts of power -- making the power grid more resilient to fires, heat waves and the effects of climate change.

The future is looking bright!

Learn More

The History of Energy in the U.S.

First Power Plant in the U.S.

First Hydroelectric Power Plant in the World

First Nuclear Power Plant in the U.S.

First Utility Scale Solar Facility in the World

Virtual Power Plant

Our Current Energy Mix

The Future - Virtual Power Plants

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