The year that Solar Energy was invented?
When Solar Energy was invented?
The story of solar energy began in 1954 with just a handful of steps led by inventors and scientists. The 20th century was when, the space and defense industries realized the value of solar energy. In the early days it was an attractive, but still expensive, alternative to fossil fuels. The industry has matured and is now a viable and affordable technology that is rapidly replacing oil, coal, or natural gas within the present energy market. This timeline will highlight the major people and events that contributed to the creation of solar technology.
The Age of Discovery (19th-20th century)
The late 19th century witnessed the beginning of physics, with discoveries in the fields of electricity, magnetism as well as the research of light. Researchers and scientists laid the foundation for the majority of the development of solar energy.
1839: A 19-year-old Frenchman Alexandre-Edmond becquerel creates the first solar cell to be built anywhere in the world.1 His work on electricity and light inspired subsequent developments in photovoltaics. In the European Photovoltaic Sun Energy Conference and Exhibition gives out the Becquerel prize every year.
1861: Auguste (or Augustin), a mathematician and physicist patents a solar motor.
1873: Willoughby Smith, an electrical engineer discovers the photovoltaic properties of selenium.
1876 W. G. Adams (professor of Natural Philosophy, King’s College London) discovers that the resistance to electricity of selenium is subject to radiation light, heat or chemical reaction. “2
1882: Abel Pifre creates a “solar engine”, which generates enough power to power his solar printing press. (pictured below)
The year is 1883. Charles Fritts, an inventor, develops the first solar cells made of the elements of gold and selenium. It converts solar radiation into electricity with a mere 1percent efficiency.
1883: John Ericsson, an inventor, creates a sun motor that uses the construction of parabolic tubes (PTC) to focus sunlight to generate boiler steam. PTC is still employed in solar thermal power plants.
1884. Charles Fritts places solar panels on the rooftop of a New York City rooftop.
1903: Aubrey Eneas, a Pasadena-based entrepreneur, starts 1903: The Solar Motor Company to market solar-driven steam engines for irrigation projects. The company soon fails.
1912-1913 Frank Shuman, an engineer from Sun Power Company, uses PTC to construct the first solar thermal power plant 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 photovoltaic electricity. Quantum Physics’ description of the subatomic realms of electrons and photons reveals the mechanism by the light-emitting particles disrupt electrons within silicon crystals and create electrical currents.
1888: Wilhelm Hallwachs, a scientist, describes the physics behind photovoltaic cell photovoltaics. This is what we now refer to as”the” Hallwachs Effect.
1905: Albert Einstein publishes, “On a Heuristic Approach to The Creation of Light and the 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 create single crystals from metal. This is the basis of creating semiconductor wafers, which are still used in electronics as well as solar cell.
1917. Albert Einstein provides a theoretical basis for photovoltaics. He introduces the idea that light acts as an electromagnetic force-carrying packet.
1929 Gilbert Lewis, a scientist and physicist, invented”photons”, a term coined by physicist Gilbert Lewis “photons”, to describe Einstein’s electromagnetic energy packets.
Age of Solar Technology Development (mid-20th Century)
The laboratory has become no more the ideal place to conduct serious research into the advancement in solar technology that is based on the invention of monocrystalline silicon cells. It is like other technologies. It was developed through research conducted for U.S. defense and aerospace industries. The first successful application of the technology is satellites and space exploration. Although solar energy is extremely efficient 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: Post-war energy scarcity has made passive solar homes popular.
1951: First solar cells made of germanium are constructed.
1954: The first silicon solar cell was made through Bell Laboratories. The cells, though less powerful than current cells, can still generate significant amounts of electricity at approximately 4 percent efficiency.
1955 First phone call powered by solar made.
1956 The first solar-powered radio was launched through General Electric. It is able to operate in both daylight and dark.
1958: Vanguard I, the first spacecraft powered by solar energy, is launched.
1960. A vehicle that was equipped by a roof made of solar panels, and powered by a 72-volt battery. It was driven through London, England.
1961: Conference sponsored by the United Nations on solar energy for the poorest of nations.
1962: Telstar, the first satellite powered by solar energy, has 3,600 cells manufactured at Bell Laboratories.
1967 The 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 for sale.
The Age of Solar Power Growth (late-20th century)
The first commercializations of solar technology were brought on due to the crisis in energy in the 1970s. The low prices for oil and the low economic growth a result of a shortage of petroleum in industrialized countries. In the U.S., U.S. government provides financial incentives for commercial and residential solar systems Research and development institutes and demonstration projects that utilize solar electricity in government buildings, as well as regulatory structures that support the current solar market. Solar panels are currently cheaper than ever before, ranging from $1,865 for a watt in 1956 to just $106 per watt in the year 1976 (prices are adjusted to reflect 2019 dollars).
1973: A crude oil embargo imposed by Arab countries drives oil prices up by up to 300 percent
1973: Solar One is built by the University of Delaware, which is the first structure that is entirely powered by solar power.
1974 the Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act permits the utilization of solar energy in federal buildings.
1974: To predict and analyze the energy market in order to study and forecast energy markets, The International Energy Agency was established.
1974: U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration was established to promote the commercialization and advancement of solar energy.
1974: The Solar Energy Industries Association is created to represent the interests and needs for the solar energy industry.
1977: Congress establishes the Solar Energy Research Institute. It is now called”the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
1977: Photovoltaic cells are produced with a power output of over 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 energy via “qualifying institutions” that meet specific energy source and efficiency standards.
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: Exports of oil coming from in the Middle East are interrupted by the Iranian Revolution, which forces the price of oil to rise.
1979: U.S. President Jimmy Carter installs solar cells on the White House roof. These panels were later removed by President Ronald Reagan.
1981: The very first concentrated PV system goes into operation, funded by the United States of America and Saudi Arabia.
1981 1981: The Solar Challenger is the first solar-powered aircraft that can fly for long distances.
1981: In 1981, the U.S. Department of Energy concludes Solar One, a pilot project to harness renewable energy from solar within the Mojave Desert, near Barstow.
1982 Construction of the world’s first solar farm of a large scale close to Hesperia located in California.
1982: In 1982, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District appointed its first solar power plant.
1985: Silicon cells with a 20% efficiency were created in the University of New South Wales, which is Australia’s Center for Photovoltaic Engineering.
1985: Development of lithium-ion batteries which can be used later to store renewable energy.
1991 commercial production of the first lithium-ion battery.
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 supported by the federal government to make it the most affordable source of energy in history. Its success is due to the S-curve. This means that even though initial growth in a new technology has been slow due to only those who are early adopters, it will experience rapid growth when economies expand permits production costs to fall and supply chains to grow. In the year 2019, solar modules were priced at $106/watt. They are currently $0.38/watt. The majority of the decline is since 2010.
2001: Home Depot starts selling residential solar power systems.
2001. Suntech Power, a Chinese company that was founded in China is transformed into a world leader in solar technology.
2006: California Public Utilities Commission approves California Solar Initiative, which gives incentives to solar development.
The year 2008 is the time when NREL establishes a new world record for solar cell efficiency, with 40.8 percentage.
2009 The Inauguration Ceremony of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
2009: 2009. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $90 billion for clean energy investments as well as tax incentives. The legislation includes guarantees for loans as well as subsidies.
2009: China implements feed-in tariffs to boost growth in the renewable energy industry.
2010: Former President Obama installed solar panels as well as an energy-efficient solar water heater at the White House.
The year 2011 is a big one: Solyndra bankrupt, investment fiasco slows down solar industry growth
2013 The world’s 100 biggest solar PV installations have surpassed 100 gigawatts.
2015. Tesla unveils the lithium-ion Powerwall Battery Pack to enable rooftop solar homeowners to save their energy.
2015: China exceeds Germany to become the world’s leading country in solar capacity for the solar system.
2015: Google Introduces Project Sunroof to help homeowners evaluate the feasibility for rooftop solar.
2016: One million solar installations across the United States.
The year 2016 is the year that Solar Impulse 2 makes the first zero-emissions flight anywhere in the world.
2016, Las Vegas (Nevada) is now the largest American city government that runs completely by renewable energy. The solar power system includes trees at City Hall.
2017 In the United States, solar energy employs more people than any other fossil fuels industry.
2019 First installation of an floating solar farm offshore in the Dutch North Sea.
2020: Building a brand new solar power plant is more affordable than continuing to operate 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 the International Energy Agency, “Solar is now the king of the market for electricity.”
2021: Apple, Inc. announced that it would be building the largest lithium-ion battery on the planet to produce energy from its California solar farm, which is 240 megawatts.