Jacobs Wind Electric Company

Jacobs Wind Electric Company, since the mid 1920s, has been designing consumer wind systems sized to the changing distributed electric loads of their periods.  The firm was started by Marcellus and Joseph Jacobs after local interest in their wind electric system for their family’s Montana Ranch brought them requests from neighbors to provide them with wind generated electric power.  M.L. & Joe moved the firm to Minneapolis in 1931 to begin production of improved wind/engine distributed energy systems which were sold, through dealer networks, in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as well as on every major continent. Before production ceased in the late 1950s, about 20,000 Jacobs Wind Energy Systems® (1 – 3 kW) were shipped from Minneapolis.  Grenada WindNow with new incentives, a number of our older 1-3 kW wind systems are being refurbished for yet more years of production. One we made in the 1940s is now running in the Caribbean. If you have one of our historic wind systems and need parts or service, let us know. Genuine Jacobs Wind Energy Systems® have proven they can stand the test of time worldwide Since 1925.  In 1980 a restart of production of Jacobs Wind Energy Systems® began in Minneapolis, with marketing of larger 10 – 20 kW systems. Most of these nearly 2,000 wind systems produced from 1980-85 were grid connected. The majority of them went to pioneering windfarms in Hawaii and California. In Minnesota Jacobs Wind units have been connected to Rural Electric Cooperative (REC) grids since 1981. In 2010 many are still on line selling renewable wind power (AG-WATTS®).  Corcoran Test SiteToday, the firm’s designers (several now in their 4th decade in the wind industry) are working with local RECs on a new generation of consumer wind systems sized to ever larger consumer electric loads at distributed rural sites.

History

Marcellus Jacobs Marcellus Jacobs on a 2.5kW machine in the 1940s  The Jacobs Wind Electric Company has been in existence or over 80 years. It started on the plains of Montana then moved to Minnesota, manufacturing wind machines sold all over the world. Jacobs Wind was responsible for bringing electricity – and a better standard of living – to areas beyond the reach of utilities, advancing the technology of wind energy, and pioneering design concepts, some of which are still in use today.  In the original era of distributed wind generation (1920s to 1950s) tens of thousands of small wind plants began charging “islands” of modern technology centers, illuminating with electric power and lights small portions of otherwise poorly powered areas on six continents. Before the second era of wind energy development (1970s to 1980s) when the “energy crisis” focused on the limitations of fossil fuels, Jacobs Wind’s founders moved to FL and focused on marine products and interests from the mid 1950s to 1975. Their most important discovery during this era was the use of a form of natural energy, tidal energy, to move vast quantities of water daily to reduce pollution in manmade waterways and thereby enhancing the marine environment and food chain for the growing population residing in the coastal zone interface.  Sales Manual Page A page from one of the few remaining 1944 sales manuals  Originally, Jacobs Wind relied heavily on word of mouth to spread its name. At the time, this worked very well. Unfortunately this, as with all oral based histories, fell victim to the passage of time and the loss of many who were around to witness its events. This greatly reduced general knowledge about Jacobs Wind, its founders, and what they accomplished.  This is our story, told with accounts, documents, and photographs from our company. The following pages break down the history of Jacobs Wind into three major sections: the inception of the company, its first major run, and its return during the energy crisis of the 1970s and 80s. While still around today, this information will give a better picture of what Jacobs Wind Electric, stood for, and still represents to this day.