Renewable Energy History

"One must not believe, despite the silence of modern writings, that the idea of using solar heat for mechanical operations is recent. On the contrary, one must recognize that this idea is very ancient and its slow development across the centuries it has given birth to various curious devices." -- Augustine Mouchot, 1878, at the Universal Exposition, Paris, France
Introduction	BIOFUELS	WATER	SOLAR	WIND
EOTECHNIC Wood & water Passive solar Wind mills
PALEO-TECHNIC Farm ethanol Hydroelectric Solar thermal Wind power
NEOTECHNIC Flex fuels Ocean energy Photovoltaics *Distributed systems*

Based on Lewis Mumford's eras of technology. Note that Mumford's examples included eotechnic wind and water, but that most examples are proposed by the author.
These pages are evolving sketches for a book and a museum exhibit on the History of Renewable Energy.