Wind power received sporadic interest after the breakthrough of electricity in the late 1800s, but was sidelined by other electricity generation technologies until the 1970s. A renewed interest in alternative energy sources during the 1970s spurred the development of wind turbines, which gradually evolved into the modern large wind turbines. Whereas significant attention and financial support were focused on government-funded multi-MW prototypes, the small wind turbines developed for the Danish market in the late 1970s proved to be the template for future development. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.