The history of the Human idea to use wind for powering their devices such as grain mills or sailing boats dates back around 3000 years.

However, the first attempt to convert wind into electric energy was done in 1888 in the USA by inventor Charles F. Brush.

The turbine's diameter was 17 meters (50 feet), it had 144 rotor blades made of cedar wood, and it generated about 12 kilowatts (kW) of power. These early windmill types were mainly used to generate electricity in rural areas, where no electric grid connection was possible.