The year that Solar Energy was invented?
The year that Solar Energy was invented?
The history of solar power began in 1954 with just a few small steps, led by inventors and scientists. At the turn of 20th-century{,|| it was the time that} the defense and space industries realized the value from solar energy. In the early days it was a promising, but still expensive, alternative to fossil fuels. The technology has advanced and is becoming a viable and cost-effective technology that is quickly replacing coal, oil, and natural gas in the current energy market. This timeline highlights the key innovators and the events that led to the advancement of solar technology.
The Age of Discovery (19th-20th century)
The 19th century was the beginning of physics thanks to discoveries in electricity, magnetism along with the science of light. Researchers and scientists laid the basis for much of the history of the solar power.
1839: A 19-year old Frenchman Alexandre-Edmond becquerel creates one of the first solar cells in the world.1 His researches on light and electricity inspired later photovoltaics developments. The European Photovoltaic Sun Energy Conference and Exhibition award the Becquerel award each year.
The year is 1861. Auguste (or Augustin) Mathematician and physicist, patents an electric motor for solar power.
1873: Willoughby Smith an electrical engineer, discovers photovoltaic effect of selenium.
1876 W. G. Adams (professor of Natural Philosophy, King’s College London) discovers that the resistance to electricity 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 the solar printer. (pictured below)
1883: Charles Fritts, an inventor, designs the first solar cells using silver and. It converts solar radiation to electricity with a mere 1percent efficiency.
1883: John Ericsson, an inventor, designs a sun motor that uses the construction of parabolic tubes (PTC) to focus sunlight to generate boiler steam. PTC continues to be employed in solar thermal power plants.
The year is 1884. Charles Fritts places solar panels on the rooftop of a New York City rooftop.
1903: Aubrey Eneas, a Pasadena-based businessman, establishes 1903: 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)
Theoretical physics of the present has helped to create a better understanding of the photovoltaic electricity. Quantum Physics’ description of the subatomic realms of electrons and photons shows the way in which light particles can alter the electrons in silicon crystals and create electrical currents.
In 1888, Wilhelm Hallwachs, a scientist and physicist, explains the physics behind photovoltaic cells. This is the basis of what we call”the Hallwachs Effect.” Hallwachs Effect.
1905: Albert Einstein publishes, “On a Heuristic Approach to the Production as well as the 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 create single crystals from metal. This is the foundation for the creation of semiconductor wafers. They are still used in electronic devices as well as solar cell.
1917. Albert Einstein provides a theoretical foundation for photovoltaics. Einstein introduces the concept that light acts as a packet carrying electromagnetic force.
1929: Gilbert Lewis, a physicist, coined the term “photons”, to describe Einstein’s energy-based electromagnetic packets.
Age of Solar Technology Development (mid-20th Century)
The lab is no longer the ideal place to conduct serious research into the advancement of solar energy technology based upon the invention of monocrystalline silicon cells. It is similar to other technologies. It was developed from studies conducted by the U.S. defense and aerospace industries. The first successful application of this technology was satellites and space exploration. While solar energy is extremely efficient but the majority of the 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: Post-war energy shortage is what makes passive solar houses so popular.
1951: The first germanium solar cells for solar power are constructed.
1954 the first solar solar panel made of silicon was produced in 1954 by Bell Laboratories. These cells, while weaker than current cells, can nevertheless produce substantial quantities of electricity at a rate of about 4 percent efficiency.
1955: First solar-powered phone call made.
1956 The first solar-powered radio was introduced in 1956 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 that was equipped by a roof made of solar panels, that was powered with 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 1962: Telstar, which was the very first satellite-powered solar communications satellite is powered by 3,600 solar cells that were manufactured at Bell Laboratories.
1967 The Soviet Union’s Soyuz 1 is the first spacecraft powered by solar power to carry people.
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 brought on due to the crisis in energy of the 1970s. The low prices for oil and the slow economic growth are the consequence of a lack of crude oil within industrialized countries. In the U.S., U.S. government provides financial incentives to residential and commercial solar panels as well as research and development institutes and demonstration projects that utilize solar electricity in government buildings, as well in regulatory structures that help the current solar market. Solar panels are currently cheaper than ever before, ranging from $1,865 per watt in 1956, to $106 per watt in the year 1976 (prices adjusted for the year 2019 dollars).
1973: A crude oil embargo imposed by Arab countries pushes oil prices up by 300%
1973: Solar One is built by the University of Delaware, which is the first structure that is completely powered by solar energy.
1974: the Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act allows the utilization of solar energy in federal buildings.
1974: To predict and analyze the energy market, in 1974, the International Energy Agency was established.
1974: U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration was established to promote the commercialization and advancement for solar power.
1974: 1974: Solar Energy Industries Association is established to represent the interests and needs in the industry of solar.
1977: Congress establishes the Solar Energy Research Institute. The institute is now known as”the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
1977: Photovoltaic cells are produced 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 requires utilities to purchase energy via “qualifying institutions” which meet certain standards for energy source and efficiency.
1978 1978: 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: Oil exports coming from 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 on the White House roof. These panels were later removed by the president Ronald Reagan.
1981: The very first concentrated PV system is put in operation, with funding from Saudi Arabia and the United States of America and Saudi Arabia.
1981: The Solar Challenger is the first solar-powered plane capable of flying across long distances.
1981: 1981: The U.S. Department of Energy concludes Solar One, a pilot project that uses solar thermal energy within the Mojave Desert, near Barstow.
1982: Construction of the first solar farm of a large scale close to Hesperia in California.
1982 1982: In 1982, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District appointed its first solar power plant.
1985: Cells made of silicon that had a efficiency of 20% were invented by the University of New South Wales in which is Australia’s Center for Photovoltaic Engineering.
1985: Development of lithium-ion batteries which can be used later 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 that will help boost the solar industry.
Age of Solar Cells Maturity (21st Century)
It is a complex but sound technology that has been embraced by the federal government to make it the most affordable energy in the history of energy. The reason for its success is the S-curve. This means that, while the initial growth in a technology is slow, driven by only early adopters, it experiences rapid growth as economies grow permits production costs to fall and supply chains to grow. In 2019, solar panels were $106/watt, but they are now $0.38/watt. 89% of this drop has occurred since 2010.
2001: Home Depot starts selling solar panels for residential use.
2001: Suntech Power, a Chinese company founded in China and then becomes a global leading solar company.
2005: California Public Utilities Commission approves California Solar Initiative, which gives incentives to solar development.
The year 2008 is the time when NREL records a brand new world record for solar cell efficiency by achieving 40.8%.
2009 Inauguration of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
2009 2009: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes $90 billion to clean energy investments as well as tax incentives. It also includes loans with guarantees and subsidy programs.
2009. China implements feed-in tariffs to encourage development in renewable energy industry.
2010: Former Obama was President. Obama installed solar panels and an energy-efficient solar water heater at the White House.
The year 2011 is a big one: Solyndra collapse, and investment crisis slows solar growth
2013 The world’s 100 biggest solar PV installations exceed 100 gigawatts.
2015: Tesla unveiled the lithium-ion Powerwall Battery Pack to enable rooftop solar users to keep their electricity.
The year 2015 is a record-breaking one: China exceeds Germany to become the world’s leading country in solar capacity of the system.
2015. Google Launches Project Sunroof to help homeowners evaluate the possibility of rooftop solar.
2016 One million solar installations across the United States.
2016: Solar Impulse 2 makes the first non-emissions flight around the globe.
2016. Las Vegas (Nevada) is now the largest American city government that runs entirely using renewable energy. The solar power system includes, trees and on City Hall.
2017 In the United States, solar energy is the most employed of all other fossil fuel industry.
2019 First installation of an offshore floating solar farm in the Dutch North Sea.
2020: Building a new solar power plant will be less expensive than maintaining an existing coal power plant.
2020: California requires all homes built in 2020 to be equipped with solar panels by 2020
2020 The 2020 forecast is that, according to International Energy Agency, “Solar is now the king of the market for electricity.”
2021 Apple, Inc. announced it was developing the biggest lithium-ion battery ever built to produce electricity from its California solar farm of 250 megawatts.
