A bold effort in Vermont [History]

This paper is the third biennial issue having wind-produced electrical energy as its theme. As with the earlier two issues, a major focus is the integration of wind power plants into electric utility systems. As such, it is fitting that our history offering describes the Smith-Putnam wind turbine that operated on the summit of Grandpa´s Knob, a mountain about 12 mi (19 km) west of Rutland, Vermont, during the early 1940s. Having a capacity of 1.25 MW, it was the world´s largest wind turbine at that time and among the first to deliver alternating current (ac) electrical energy into an electric utility transmission and distribution system.