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  • Use this timeline to explore how humans have relied on fossil fuels1 in the past and how we are looking for, and using, new energy sources.

    200,000 BC – Fire used

    Records of the first controlled uses of fire for warmth and cooking.

    500 BC – Solar power

    Passive solar energy2 used in Greek homes.

    200 BC – Coal mining

    Coal mining starts in China.

    644 AD – First windmill

    The first windmill, with a vertical axis, is recorded in Iran.

    1100 – Wind power

    Windmills are introduced in Europe.

    Rights: Betty-Anne Kamp

    Windmills in the Netherlands

    Windmills have been around for a long time. The traditional windmills, as well as their modern cousins, are a common sight in the Dutch landscape.

    1690 – Coal replaces wood

    Widespread use of coal begins in Europe due to wood depletion.

    1700 – Geothermal power

    Māori use geothermal3 hot water and coal for cooking and heating.

    1848 Coal discovered in New Zealand

    New Zealand coal is discovered by Thomas Brunner on the West Coast of the South Island.

    1859 – First US oil well

    First oil well in America is drilled in Pennsylvania.

    1868 – First solar power plant

    First modern solar power4 plant in Algiers used to heat5 water to drive a steam engine.

    1885 – Petrol powered car

    Karl Benz develops the first working motorcar powered by petrol.

    1886 – Oil discovered in New Zealand

    New Zealand oil is discovered in Taranaki, in the North Island of New Zealand.

    1892 – First hydroelectric power station in New Zealand

    First hydroelectric power station in New Zealand is built at Mokopeka.

    1933 – First hydroelectric power station in the South Island

    First hydroelectric power station scheme in operation on the Kawerau River in the South Island.

    1939 – Nuclear power

    Otto Hahn, in Germany, discovers the process of nuclear fission6 for energy.

    Rights: Public domain

    Otto Hahn

    Chemist Otto Hahn won many awards for his work, including the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery and the radiochemical proof of nuclear fission.

    1942 – First nuclear fission reactor

    Enrico Fermi, working in the United States, designs and builds the first nuclear fission reactor.

    1945 – First atomic bomb

    First atomic bomb detonated in New Mexico, USA.

    1951 – First nuclear electrical power

    First nuclear electrical power produced in Idaho, USA.

    1958 – First geothermal power plant in New Zealand

    New Zealand’s first geothermal power plant, in Wairakei in the North Island, produces electricity7.

    1962 – First gas well in New Zealand

    New Zealand’s first gas well drilled in Taranaki, North Island.

    Rights: University of Waikato. All Rights Reserved.

    Natural gas in Taranaki

    Adam Vonk explains that we are more likely to find natural gas in the Taranaki basin. This is because the source rock is mostly coal, which is generally considered to be a gas-producing source rock.

    1973 – Energy shortages

    Worldwide energy shortages are caused by the oil embargo of key oil-producing countries.

    1974 – Photovoltaic cell developed

    Silicon8 photovoltaic9 cell10 for harnessing solar power is developed by Joseph Lindmayer in the USA.

    1985 – New Zealand’s nuclear ban

    The New Zealand anti-nuclear policy is enforced over a visit by the USS warship Buchanan.

    1986 – Worst nuclear meltdown

    Worst nuclear meltdown with nuclear fallout occurs at Chernobyl, Ukraine.

    1993 – First wind turbine in New Zealand

    The first commercial wind turbine in New Zealand is installed in Brooklyn, Wellington. More wind farms follow.

    Rights: Sendervictoius, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Wind farm under construction

    The Te Apiti Wind farm under construction.

    2003 – World’s biggest power cut

    The world’s biggest power cut affects more than 50 million people when a fault in a power company in Canada causes a black-out across the eastern USA and Canada.

    2016 – Year high

    New Zealand generates 85% of electricity from renrewable sources.

    2017 – Damaged pipeline causes fuel shortages

    The 168 km pipeline, which carries jet fuel11, diesel and petrol directly from the refinery at Marsden Point to tanks in South Auckland, is damaged by a digger. Air travel is disrupted and some Auckland petrol stations run out of petrol.

    Related content

    Find out more about the development of electric vehicles in the Electric car history timeline.

    1. fossil fuel: Materials such as coal, oil and natural gas formed from the fossilised remains of plants that lived many millions of years ago. Often burned as fuel – although this releases large amounts of CO2, which contributes to global warming. Fossil fuels are also not renewable – there is a limited amount.
    2. solar energy: The energy received by the Earth and from the Sun. Also called solar power.
    3. geothermal: Geothermal energy is energy produced from the heat of the Earth.
    4. solar power: The energy received by the Earth from the Sun. Also called solar energy.
    5. heat energy (heat): Heat energy: the transfer of energy in materials from the random movement of the particles in that material. The greater the random movement of particles the more heat energy the material has. Temperature is a measure of the heat energy of a material.
      Heat: the flow of energy from a warm object to a cooler object.
    6. nuclear fission: A nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus, especially a heavy nucleus such as an isotope of uranium, splits into fragments. Usually, two fragments of comparable mass are produced along with several neutrons. A large amount of energy is released during the process.
    7. electricity: A general term that includes a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electrical charge.
    8. silicon: A semimetal – symbol Si, atomic number 14.
    9. photovoltaics: A method to convert sunlight directly into electricity by using solar cells packaged in photovoltaic modules.
    10. cell: 1. Building block of the body. A human is made of millions of cells, which are adapted for different functions and can reproduce themselves exactly. 2. A simple electrolytic device that enables chemical energy to be transformed into electrical energy.
    11. fuel: 1. A combustible substance that provides energy. 2. A body fuel such as fat, carbohydrates and protein that supplies energy for animals’ activities.
    Published 10 June 2008, Updated 21 March 2018 Referencing Hub articles
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        fossil fuel

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      2. Materials such as coal, oil and natural gas formed from the fossilised remains of plants that lived many millions of years ago. Often burned as fuel – although this releases large amounts of CO2, which contributes to global warming. Fossil fuels are also not renewable – there is a limited amount.

        solar power

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      4. The energy received by the Earth from the Sun. Also called solar energy.

        electricity

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      6. A general term that includes a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electrical charge.

        cell

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      8. 1. Building block of the body. A human is made of millions of cells, which are adapted for different functions and can reproduce themselves exactly.

        2. A simple electrolytic device that enables chemical energy to be transformed into electrical energy.

        solar energy

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      10. The energy received by the Earth and from the Sun. Also called solar power.

        heat energy (heat)

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      12. Heat energy: the transfer of energy in materials from the random movement of the particles in that material. The greater the random movement of particles the more heat energy the material has. Temperature is a measure of the heat energy of a material.
        Heat: the flow of energy from a warm object to a cooler object.

        silicon

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      14. A semimetal – symbol Si, atomic number 14.

        fuel

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      16. 1. A combustible substance that provides energy. 2. A body fuel such as fat, carbohydrates and protein that supplies energy for animals’ activities.

        geothermal

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      18. Geothermal energy is energy produced from the heat of the Earth.

        nuclear fission

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      20. A nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus, especially a heavy nucleus such as an isotope of uranium, splits into fragments. Usually, two fragments of comparable mass are produced along with several neutrons. A large amount of energy is released during the process.

        photovoltaics

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      22. A method to convert sunlight directly into electricity by using solar cells packaged in photovoltaic modules.