What was the year Solar Energy was invented?
What was the year Solar Energy was invented?
The history of solar energy began in 1954 with a few small steps, led by inventors and scientists. In the 20th century{,|| it was the time that} the defense and space industries realized the potential from solar energy. By then, it was a promising however, it was still a costly option to replace fossil fuels. The industry has matured and is today a viable and affordable technology that is quickly replacing coal, oil, or natural gas within today’s energy market. This timeline will highlight the major innovators and the events that led to the advancement of solar technology.
The Age of Discovery (19th-20th century)
The late 19th century witnessed the beginning of physics, with discoveries in electricity, magnetism and the study of light. The work of scientists and engineers laid the basis for the entire history of solar energy.
1839: 19-year-old Frenchman Alexandre-Edmond becquerel creates one of the first solar cells to be built anywhere in the world.1 His studies on light and electricity inspired later photovoltaics developments. The European Photovoltaic Sun Energy Conference and Exhibition gives out the Becquerel prize each year.
1861 Auguste (or Augustin) Mathematician and physicist patents a solar motor.
1873: Willoughby S. Smith, an electrical engineer discovers the photovoltaic effect of selenium.
1876 W. G. Adams (professor of Natural Philosophy, King’s College London) discovers that the electrical resistance of selenium is subject to radiation light, heat or chemical action. “2
1882. Abel Pifre creates a “solar engine”, which generates enough electricity to power the solar printer. (pictured below)
The year is 1883. Charles Fritts, an inventor, designs the first solar cell using the elements of gold and selenium. It converts solar radiation into electric power with just 1% efficiency.
1883: John Ericsson, an inventor, designs an electric sun motor using parabolic tube construction (PTC) to focus sunlight to generate boiler steam. PTC continues to be employed for solar power generation.
1884. Charles Fritts places solar panels on the rooftop of a New York City rooftop.
1903: Aubrey Eneas, a Pasadena-based entrepreneur, starts 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 at the 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)
Theoretical physics of the present has helped in gaining a better understanding of the photovoltaic electricity. Quantum Physics’ description of the subatomic worlds of electrons as well as photons shows the way in which packets of light can cause electrons to be sucked out of silicon crystals to create electric currents.
1888: Wilhelm Hallwachs, a scientist, describes the physics behind photovoltaic cells. This is the basis of what we refer to as the Hallwachs Effect.
1905: Albert Einstein publishes, “On an Heuristic Perspective on The Production and Transformation of Light,” which explains how light creates an electrical current through knocking electrons from certain metal atoms.
1916: Jan Czochralski, a chemist, invents a way to make single crystals out of metal. This is the foundation for the creation of semiconductor wafers. They are still used in electronics as well as solar cell.
1917: Albert Einstein provides a theoretic basis for photovoltaics. He introduces the idea that light acts as an electromagnetic wave that is carried by a packet.
1929 Gilbert Lewis, a scientist and physicist, invented the term “photons” in 1929, to describe the electromagnetic energy of Einstein’s packets.
Age of Solar Technology Development (mid-20th Century)
The laboratory is no longer the best place for research that is serious about the development in solar technology based upon the development by monocrystalline silicon cell. It’s similar to other technologies. It was developed through research done to support U.S. defense and aerospace industries. The first major application of the technology is the space-based exploration satellite. Although solar energy is extremely effective however, the majority of its technology is not commercially available.
1941 Russell Ohl, a Bell Laboratories engineer, files an application for patents for the first monocrystalline silicon-based solar cell.
1947: The post-war shortage of energy is what makes passive solar houses so popular.
1951: First germanium solar cells for solar power are constructed.
1954 First silicon solar cells is manufactured in 1954 by Bell Laboratories. These cells, while weaker than modern cells, nevertheless produce substantial amounts of electricity, at a rate of about 4% efficiency.
1955 First phone call powered by solar made.
1956 The first radio powered by solar energy was introduced in 1956 by General Electric. It can be used in dark and daylight.
1958: Vanguard I, the first spacecraft powered by solar energy, is launched.
1960. Car equipped by a roof made of solar panels and powered by a battery of 72 volts. It was driven around London, England.
The year 1961 was the Year of the Conference organized by the United Nations on solar energy for the developing world.
1962: Telstar, the first satellite-powered solar communications satellite is powered by 3,600 cells manufactured at Bell Laboratories.
1967: Soviet Union’s Soyuz 1 is the first spacecraft that is powered by solar energy to transport humans.
1972 1972: The Synchronar 2100 solar-powered watch goes on sale.
Age of Solar Power Growth (late-20th century)
The first commercializations of solar technology were spurred due to the crisis in energy in the 1970s. The low prices for oil and the slower economic development are the result of the shortage of oil in developed nations. The U.S. government provides financial incentives to residential and commercial solar systems Research and development institutes demonstration projects that make use of solar electricity in government buildings, as well being regulatory structures to support the current solar market. Solar panels are now cheaper than ever before, ranging from $1,865 for a watt in 1956 to $106 per watt in 1976 (prices are adjusted to reflect the year 2019 dollars).
1973: A crude oil embargo put in place by Arab countries drives oil prices up by 300%
1973: Solar One is built by the University of Delaware, which is the first building that is entirely powered with solar energy.
1974 the Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act allows the use of solar energy in federal structures.
1974: To forecast and study energy markets, in 1974, the International Energy Agency was established.
1974: U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration was established to encourage the commercialization and development of solar energy.
1974 The Solar Energy Industries Association is established to represent the interests and needs for the solar energy industry.
1977: Congress establishes the Solar Energy Research Institute. It’s now called the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
1977 In 1977, photovoltaic cells are manufactured at a rate of more than 500 kW worldwide.
1977: Creation of the U.S. Department of Energy.
1978{:|| 1977:} The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), that established net metering obliges utilities to purchase electric power through “qualifying institutions” that meet specific energy source and efficiency standards.
1978 1977: the Energy Tax Act created the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), and the Residential Energy Credit in order to encourage the purchase of solar panels.
1979: Exports of oil of in the Middle East are interrupted by the Iranian Revolution, which forces oil prices to go up.
1979: U.S. President Jimmy Carter installs solar panels in the White House roof. These panels were later removed by President Ronald Reagan.
1981: The first concentrated PV system is put into operation, with funding from Saudi Arabia and the United States of America and Saudi Arabia.
1981: 1981: The Solar Challenger is the first solar-powered plane capable of flying across long distances.
1981 1982: The U.S. Department of Energy concludes Solar One, a pilot project to harness Solar thermal power located in the Mojave Desert, near Barstow.
1982 Construction of the world’s first large-scale solar farm close to Hesperia near California.
1982: In 1982, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District appointed its first solar power plant.
1985: Cells of silicon with a 20% efficiency were created at the University of New South Wales, Australia’s Center for Photovoltaic Engineering.
1985: Development of lithium-ion batteries that can be used later in the future to hold renewable energy.
1991: Commercial manufacturing of the very first lithium-ion batteries.
1992: Congress makes the Investment Tax Credit permanent.
2000: Germany establishes a feed in tariff program to help production of solar panels.
Time of Solar Cells Maturity (21st Century)
It is a complicated but sound technology that has been supported by the federal government to make it the most affordable source of energy in history. The reason for its success is the S-curve. This means that while initial growth in a technology has been slow due to only those who are early adopters, it will experience rapid growth as economies grow allow production costs to decrease and supply chains can expand. In 2019, solar modules were priced at $106/watt. They are now $0.38/watt. The majority of the drop is since 2010.
2001: Home Depot starts selling solar panels for residential use.
2001: Suntech Power, a Chinese company founded in China, becomes a global leading solar company.
2006. California Public Utilities Commission approves California Solar Initiative, which gives incentives to solar development.
The year 2008 is the time when NREL sets a record for the first time in world record for solar cell efficiency, with 40.8 percent.
2009 The Inauguration Ceremony of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act offers $90 billion in clean energy investments as well as tax incentives. This includes loan guarantees as well as subsidies.
2009: China introduces tariffs on feed-ins in order to encourage expansion in the renewable energy industry.
2010 Obama: Former President Obama set up solar panels as well as the solar water heater inside the White House.
2011: Solyndra bankruptcy, 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 solar rooftop homeowners to save their electric power.
2015: China exceeds Germany to become the world’s leading country in solar capacity for the solar system.
2015: Google Launches Project Sunroof To Help Homeowners Evaluate the viability roof solar.
2016 1 million solar installations in the United States.
The year 2016 is the year that Solar Impulse 2 makes the first zero-emissions flight around the globe.
2016, Las Vegas (Nevada) is the first American city government that runs completely on renewable energy. This includes solar panels trees in the city’s City Hall.
2017: In the United States, solar energy is the most employed of all other fossil fuel industry.
2019 First installation of an floating solar farm off the coast of the Dutch North Sea.
2020: Building a brand new solar power plant is less expensive than maintaining an existing coal power plant.
2020: California requires all homes built in 2020 to include solar panels by 2020
2020 The 2020 forecast is that, according to the International Energy Agency, “Solar is now the reigning king of the market for electricity.”
2021 Apple, Inc. announced that it would be building the largest lithium-ion battery ever built to generate electric power from the California solar farm that is 240 megawatts.
