Mills to Megawatts

The story of wind energy across Europe

The history of renewable energy goes back many hundreds of years, when people began harnessing the powers of nature to produce energy. For most of that time, this has involved the production of kinetic energy by wind and waterpower evidenced by machinery to grind grain into flour (windmills and watermills). During the late 1800s, early pioneers experimented in utilising the powers of wind and water to generate electricity, which became more mainstream from the 1970s onwards. This is a rich and varied history, central to humanity. But it has rarely been looked at in a holistic way, from the early 1100s and the first documentary evidence of windmills arriving in Europe (waterpower goes back even further in time), up until present day and beyond.

With support from the Council of Europe and the European Union, The Mills Archive Trust is working in collaboration with the World Wind Energy Association, the Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy and the German Wind Power Museum, to showcase the important advances in wind power over hundreds and years, including current inventions and innovations.

We are keen to receive suggestions of content as well as contributions, the interactive map we have created is a work in progress, growing as we receipt input from people throughout Europe and around the world. If you know of a significant person, invention, location or event relating to wind energy at any point in time within Europe that we have not included, do let us know. This story and the map will continue to grow and be shaped by public contributions. If you would like to get in touch with any questions, comments or suggestions, please contact us.

Start scrolling below to explore the interactive map… If you prefer, you can view the map in a slightly different format within your browser.