Jacobs Wind Electric Co. Inc. is a renewable energy company in the United States. The firm was started and established by Marcellus and Joseph Jacobs, after local interest in their wind electric system for their family's Montana Ranch, built in 1922, brought them requests from neighbours to provide them with wind generated electric power as well. M.L. & Joe moved the firm to Minneapolis in 1963 to begin production of improved wind/engine distributed energy systems which were sold in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and outside of North America, through a Dealer network that grew to over 300. Early Jacobs' machines included one taken to Antarctica by

Richard Evelyn Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...

and installed at Byrd's ' Little America' in 1933, running until 1955.Righter
p.95 Before production ceased in the late 1950s, about 20,000 Jacobs Wind Energy Systems (1–3 kW) were shipped from

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. In the 1980s, Jacobs Wind Electric Co. partnered with Control Data to develop a new line of wind energy systems capable of producing 10-20 kW of electricity. Over 1,500 of these larger systems were manufactured between 1980 and 1985, with many being connected to the grid. A significant number were installed in pioneering wind farms in Hawaii and California. Jacobs wind systems were also connected to

Rural Electric Cooperative A utility cooperative is a type of cooperative that is tasked with the delivery of a public utility such as electricity, water or telecommunications to its members. Profit (accounting), Profits are either reinvested for infrastructure or distrib ...

(REC) grids in Minnesota from 1981 onwards. Many of these systems are still in operation, generating renewable wind power for sale to REC grids (AG-WATTS).

References

* Robert Righter, Wind Energy in America. Norman, Okla. : University of Oklahoma Press, April 1996. 361pp.

External links

US Patent 4228361 - Wind electric plant with improved alternator field excitation
- details 1 of at least 3 patents
Jacobs Wind Electric Company, IncWind Turbine Industriesgreentechhistory.com
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SERI Seri or SERI may refer to: People *Jean Michaël Seri, an Ivorian professional footballer Places *Seri Yek-e Zarruk, Iran *Seri, Bheri, Nepal *Seri, Karnali, Nepal *Seri, Mahakali, Nepal *Seri, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India Oth ...

Archive film, interview
Wind-Works

Photos, details
many Jacobs machines Wind turbine manufacturers Renewable energy companies of the United States Companies based in Minnesota {{windpower-stub