Of the bacterial isolates found in the Arctic that are able to degrade PCBs, none used compounds such as 2-chlorobiphenyl, 3-chlorobiphenyl, camphor, citronellol, cymene, dehydroabietic acid, limonene, methanol, n-hexadecane, pentachlorophenol, phenol, or pinene as primary growth substrates (Master and Mohn 1998).
In the 20th century, demand for electricity led to the consideration of geothermal power as a generating source. Prince Piero Ginori Conti tested the first geothermal power generator on 4 July 1904, at the same Larderello dry steam field where geothermal acid extraction began. It successfully lit four light bulbs. Later, in 1911, the world's first commercial geothermal power plant was built there.
Iron and steel slowly became the materials of choice because they require little repair. The first all-steel windmill and tower was produced by the United States Wind Engine & Pump Co. The first electricity-generating wind turbine was invented in 1888 in Cleveland, Ohio by Charles F. Brush. The turbineâs diameter was 17 meters (50 feet), it had 144 rotor blades made of cedar wood, and it generated about 12 kilowatts (kW) of power.