The year that Solar Energy was invented?
The year that Solar Energy was invented?
The history of solar power began in 1954 with a couple of small steps, driven by scientists and inventors. In the 20th century{,|| it was the time that} the defense and space industries realized the potential from solar energy. At the time, it was a promising, but still expensive, alternative to fossil fuels. The technology has advanced and is now a viable and affordable technology that is quickly replacing coal, oil or natural gas within the current energy market. This timeline will highlight the major pioneers and events that led to the advancement of solar technology.
The Age of Discovery (19th-20th century)
The 19th century was the birth of physics with discoveries in electricity, magnetism along with the science of light. The work of scientists and engineers laid the foundation for the entire history of the solar power.
1839: A 19-year-old Frenchman Alexandre-Edmond becquerel creates one of the first solar cells to be built anywhere in the world.1 His work on light and electricity inspired the development of photovoltaics in the following years. In the European Photovoltaic Sun Energy Conference and Exhibition award the Becquerel prize every year.
The year is 1861. Auguste (or Augustin) Mathematician and physicist patents the solar motor.
1873: Willoughby Smith an electrical engineer, discovers photovoltaic effects in selenium.
1876 W. G. Adams (professor of Natural Philosophy, King’s College London) discovers that the electrical resistance of selenium can change due to radiation light, heat or chemical action. “2
The year is 1882. Abel Pifre creates a “solar engine” which produces enough electricity for its solar-powered printing presses. (pictured below)
In 1883, Charles Fritts, an inventor, creates the first solar cell using selenium and gold. The cells convert solar radiation into electricity with a mere one percent efficiency.
1883: John Ericsson, an inventor, creates an electric sun motor using parabolic tube construction (PTC), to concentrate solar radiation to power a boiler steam. PTC continues to be used for solar power generation.
1884. Charles Fritts places solar panels on the roof of a New York City rooftop.
1903: Aubrey Eneas, a Pasadena-based businessman, establishes the Solar Motor Company to market solar-driven steam engines for irrigation projects. In the end, the company is unable to survive.
1912-1913 Frank Shuman, an engineer from Sun Power Company, uses PTC to construct one of the first thermal solar power plants anywhere in the world.
The Age of Understanding Solar Panels (late-19th-early-20th centuries)
Modern theoretical physics has helped in gaining a better understanding of photovoltaic electricity. Quantum Physics’ description of the subatomic realms of electrons and photons provides the mechanism through which light particles can alter the electrons in silicon crystals and create electrical currents.
The year was 1888. Wilhelm Hallwachs, a scientist, describes the physics behind photovoltaic cells. This is the basis of what we call the Hallwachs Effect.
1905: Albert Einstein publishes, “On a Heuristic Approach to the Production and Transformation of Light,” which explains how light creates an electrical current through knocking electrons out of certain metal atoms.
1916. Jan Czochralski, a chemical engineer, discovers a way to make single crystals out of metal. This is the foundation for making semiconductor wafers that are still used in electronics or solar cells.
1917. Albert Einstein provides a theoretical basis for photovoltaics. He introduces the idea that light is an electromagnetic force-carrying packet.
1929: Gilbert Lewis, a physicist, coined the term “photons” in 1929, to describe Einstein’s energy-based electromagnetic packets.
Age of Solar Technology Development (mid-20th Century)
The laboratory is no longer the ideal place for serious research on the development of solar energy technology that is based on the discovery the monocrystalline silicon-based cells. It’s similar to other technologies. It was developed through studies conducted for U.S. defense and aerospace industries. The first major application of the technology is research and satellites. Although solar energy is extremely efficient but the majority of the technology cannot be commercialized.
1941: Russell Ohl, a Bell Laboratories engineer, files an application for patents for the first monocrystalline silicon-based solar cell.
1947: Post-war energy shortage makes passive solar houses popular.
1951: First germanium solar cells for solar power are constructed.
1954 The first silicon solar cell was made through Bell Laboratories. The cells, though less powerful than modern cells, still generate significant quantities of electricity at around 4% efficiency.
1955: First solar-powered phone call made.
1956 The first solar-powered radio was launched by General Electric. It can be used in both daylight and dark.
1958: Vanguard I, the first spacecraft powered by solar energy, is launched.
1960. Car equipped with a solar-panel roof, which was powered by a battery of 72 volts. It was driven around London, England.
1961: A conference sponsored by the United Nations on solar energy for the developing world.
1962 Telstar is the world’s first satellite-powered solar communications satellite, is powered by 3,600 cells manufactured by Bell Laboratories.
1967 The the Soviet Union’s Soyuz 1 is the first spacecraft powered by solar energy to carry humans.
1972 1972: The Synchronar 2100 watch powered by solar goes for sale.
Age of Solar Power Growth (late-20th century)
Solar technology’s first introductions to commercialization were spurred by the energy crisis of the 1970s. In the 1970s, low oil prices and slower economic development are a result of a shortage of oil in developed nations. In the U.S., U.S. government provides financial incentives for commercial and residential solar panels as well as research and development institutes demonstration projects that make use of solar power in government buildings, as being regulatory structures to support the current solar industry. Solar panels are currently cheaper than ever before, ranging from $1,865 per watt back in 1956, to $106 per watt in the year 1976 (prices adjusted for 2019 dollars).
1973: A crude oil embargo imposed by Arab nations drives oil prices up by 300%
1973: Solar One is built by the University of Delaware, which is the first structure to be powered entirely by solar energy.
1974: The Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act permits the use of solar energy in federal buildings.
1974: In order to predict and analyze the energy market In 1974, in order to forecast and study energy markets, the International Energy Agency was established.
1974: U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration is established to help promote commercialization and development in solar energy.
1974: 1974: The Solar Energy Industries Association is formed to represent the needs and requirements in the industry of solar.
1977: Congress establishes the Solar Energy Research Institute. It is now called”the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
1977: Photovoltaic cells are produced in excess of 500 kW worldwide.
1977: The establishment of the U.S. Department of Energy.
1978{:|| 1977:} 1978: The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), that established net metering requires utilities to buy electric power from “qualifying institutions” which meet certain standards for energy source and efficiency.
1978 1977: the Energy Tax Act created the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and the Residential Energy Credit in order to promote the purchase of solar panels.
1979: Oil exports from Iran and the Middle East are interrupted by the Iranian Revolution, which forces oil prices up.
1979: U.S. President Jimmy Carter installs solar cells in the White House roof. The panels were later taken down by President Ronald Reagan.
1981: The first concentrating PV system goes into operation, with funding from the United States of America and Saudi Arabia.
1981: the Solar Challenger is the first solar-powered plane capable of flying across vast distances.
1981: In 1981, the U.S. Department of Energy completes Solar One, a pilot project for Solar thermal power located in the Mojave Desert, near Barstow.
1982: Construction of the first solar farm of a large scale close to Hesperia in California.
1982: 1982: Sacramento Municipal Utility District appointed its first solar power plant.
1985: Cells made of silicon that had a efficiency of 20% were invented at the University of New South Wales in Australia’s Center for Photovoltaic Engineering.
1985: The development of lithium-ion batteries that can later be used for storage of renewable power.
1991 commercial manufacture of first battery made of lithium.
1991: Congress makes the Investment Tax Credit permanent.
2000: Germany establishes a feed in tariff program to help energy efficiency in the industry of solar.
Age of Solar Cells Maturity (21st Century)
It is a complex but sound technology that has been supported by the government to make it the most affordable source of energy in the history of energy. Its popularity is due to the S-curve. This means that even though initial growth in a new technology is slow, driven by only early adopters, it experiences rapid growth as economies grow allows production costs to drop and supply chains can expand. In the year 2019, solar modules were priced at $106/watt. They are currently $0.38/watt. The majority of the decrease is since 2010.
2001: Home Depot starts selling solar panels for residential use.
2001: Suntech Power, a Chinese company established in China is transformed into a world leader in solar technology.
2005: California Public Utilities Commission approves California Solar Initiative, which gives incentives to solar development.
2008. NREL sets a record for the first time in world record for solar cell efficiency by achieving 40.8 percent.
2009 The Inauguration Ceremony of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
2009 2009: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act offers $90 billion in green energy projects as well as tax incentives. It also includes loans with guarantees and subsidies.
2009. China adopts feed-in tariffs that boost growth in the renewable energy sector.
2010: Former president Obama set up solar panels as well as the solar water heater inside the White House.
2011. Solyndra collapse, and investment crisis slows solar expansion
2013 The world’s 100 biggest solar PV installations surpasses 100 gigawatts.
2015. Tesla unveils the lithium-ion Powerwall Battery Pack to enable rooftop solar homeowners to save their electricity.
2015. China beats Germany to become the world’s leading country in solar system capacity.
2015: Google launches Project Sunroof To Help Homeowners Evaluate the viability of rooftop solar.
2016 One million solar installations across the United States.
The year 2016 is the year that Solar Impulse 2 makes the first non-emissions flight anywhere in the world.
2016, Las Vegas (Nevada) becomes the largest American city government that runs entirely on renewable energy. The solar power system includes and trees in the city’s City Hall.
2017: In the United States, solar energy employs more people than any other fossil fuels industry.
2019: Installation of the first floating solar farm off the coast of the Dutch North Sea.
2020: Building a new solar power plant will be less expensive than maintaining an existing coal plant.
2020: California will require all new homes to have solar panels by 2020.
2020: According the International Energy Agency, “Solar is now the king of the electricity market.”
2021: Apple, Inc. announced it was building the largest lithium-ion battery ever built to generate electricity from its California solar farm, which is 240 megawatts.
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