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Wind power and rural modernization: wind-powered water supply systems in northern Germany and southern France, 1880–1950.
- Source :
- History & Technology; Dec 2021, Vol. 37 Issue 4, p446-467, 22p, 2 Color Photographs, 3 Black and White Photographs
- Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- The article analyzes mechanical wind-powered water supply systems situated in southern France and northern Germany in the time period between 1880 and 1950, when wind energy was not yet framed as a renewable, but as a rural, decentralized, and manageable solution to generate energy. Using a local approach, I highlight wind energy use in rural areas of Western societies as part of the non-synchronical process of technological modernization that unfolded at the same time as electrification, industrialization, and the implementation of large technological systems. I develop my argument in two steps. First, I provide the micro-historical case studies to examine socio-technological contexts that motivated people to advocate for the use of wind energy in times of electrification and industrialization. Second, I show the connection to general and specific contemporary discourses about wind energy and energy futures in order to provide evidence that the wind projects were part of rural modernization processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 07341512
- Volume :
- 37
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- History & Technology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 156580768
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/07341512.2022.2033388