Energy · 1941
Smith-Putnam turbine
The first megawatt wind turbine feeds the Vermont grid.
The 1.25 MW Smith-Putnam machine on Grandpa's Knob synchronized with the grid in 1941. A blade failure in 1945 ended it, but it proved utility-scale wind was possible decades early.
What it built on 2
What it led to 1
Related measurements
The dashed line marks when it first worked.
Wind electricity generation Latest: 2.71k TWh (2025) Source: Our World in Data