Thomas Edison: Champion of Renewable Energy (Solar, Wind, etc)

Thomas Edison: Electricity Dependent Inventions

The famous Thomas Edison was actually a proponent of solar power, wind power, or other forms of "green" energy. Some environmentalists criticize the inventor of incandescent light bulbs, many early versions of appliances we still use today as well as photography and the motion picture camera. So many of Edison’s inventions increase our dependence on electrical power and the natural resources traditionally required to generate that power.

In 1914, Edison developed an Electric car called 'the baker'. Another inventor, Nikola Tesla, developed an electric car as well. However, Tesla's car was AC powered, and some would say it is superior to Edison's DC powered car. During this time (around 1914) most people expected that cars would be powered by electricity. However, Henry Ford had been experimenting with a gas powered engine and ultimately this was chosen due to high horsepower and relatively cheap production costs. Competitors saw the profits of the gas powered vehicle and began working on their own, ultimately abandoning their own electric car prototypes.

Below: Thomas Edison holds a battery for his electric car called 'the baker'.

Thomas Edision and Renewable Energy

Something many people may not realize is that Thomas Edison was a pioneer in renewable and green technology. Aside from his work with Henry Ford to make an electric car and he also experimented with wind turbine electrical power. Such experiments are examples of his foresight in realizing the great importance of renewable energy.

Below: Henry Ford (left) and Thomas Edison (right) were close friends throughout their adult lives.


Most interesting of all, in 1931, before his death, Thomas Edison said to his old friends Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford: “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” Clearly Mr. Edison recognized that coal, oil and other fossil fuels would not last forever.

In a way I'm not surprised to see that Thomas Edison had a lot of foresight to see the difficulties of our own day and age. Hopefully, we can make advancements sooner rather than later (in renewable energy).