The year that Solar Energy was invented?
What was the year Solar Energy was invented?
The history of solar power began in 1954, with just a couple of small steps, driven by scientists and inventors. 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 an attractive however, it was still a costly option to replace fossil fuels. The field has grown and is now a viable and affordable technology that is quickly replacing coal, oil or natural gas within today’s energy market. This timeline highlights the most important people and events that contributed to the development of solar technology.
The Age of Discovery (19th-20th century)
The 19th century was the birth of physics with discoveries in the fields of electricity, magnetism along with the science of light. Scientists and inventors laid the basis for the majority of the development of solar energy.
1839: A 19-year-old Frenchman Alexandre-Edmond Bécquerel designs the first solar cell to be built anywhere in the world.1 His researches on electricity and light influenced the development of photovoltaics in the following years. The European Photovoltaic Sun Energy Conference and Exhibition gives out the Becquerel prize each year.
The year is 1861. Auguste (or Augustin), a mathematician and physicist, invents the solar motor.
1873: Willoughby S. Smith, an electrical engineer, discovers photovoltaic properties of selenium.
1876 W. G. Adams (professor of Natural Philosophy, King’s College London) discovers that the electrical resistance of selenium may change due to radiation light, heat or chemical reaction. “2
The year is 1882. Abel Pifre creates a “solar engine” which produces enough electricity for its solar-powered printing presses. (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 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 is still used 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 businessman, establishes the Solar Motor Company to market solar-powered steam engines to be used in 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 build 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 assisted 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 to create electric 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 Viewpoint Concerning The Creation and Transformation of Light,” explaining how light produces an electrical current through knocking electrons out of certain metal atoms.
1916: Jan Czochralski, a chemist, invents a way to create single crystals from metal. This is the principle behind the creation of semiconductor wafers. They are still used in electronics and solar cells.
1917: Albert Einstein provides a theoretic basis for photovoltaics. Einstein explains that light is an electromagnetic wave that is carried by a packet.
1929: Gilbert Lewis, a scientist, coined”photons” in 1929 “photons” in 1929, to describe Einstein’s electromagnetic energy packets.
Age of Solar Technology Development (mid-20th Century)
The lab is no longer the place for research that is serious about the development technologies for solar power, based on the invention the monocrystalline silicon-based cells. It is like other technologies. It was created from studies conducted by the U.S. defense and aerospace industries. The first successful application of the technology is satellites and space exploration. Even though solar energy is extremely efficient but the majority of the technology isn’t commercially viable.
1941: Russell Ohl, a Bell Laboratories engineer, files an application for patents on the first silicon-based monocrystalline solar cell.
1947: Post-war energy shortage has made passive solar homes popular.
1951: First solar cells made from germanium are built.
1954: the first solar solar panel made of silicon was produced by Bell Laboratories. Although they are less robust than modern cells, produce significant quantities of electricity with around 4% efficiency.
1955 First phone call powered by solar made.
1956 The first solar-powered radio was released in 1956 by General Electric. It can be used in both dark and daylight.
1958: Vanguard I, the first spacecraft powered by solar power, is launched.
1960. A vehicle equipped with a solar-panel roof, that was powered with a battery with a voltage of 72volts. It was driven around London, England.
The year 1961 was the Year of the Conference arranged by the United Nations on solar energy for the poorest of nations.
1962 Telstar 1962: Telstar, which was the very first satellite-powered solar communications satellite runs on 3,600 solar cells that were manufactured by Bell Laboratories.
1967 The Soviet Union’s Soyuz 1 is the first spacecraft powered by solar power to transport humans.
1972 1972: The Synchronar 2100 solar-powered watch goes on sale.
The Age of Solar Power Growth (late-20th century)
Solar technology’s first introductions to commercialization were spurred through the economic crisis of the 1970s. In the 1970s, low oil prices and low economic growth the result of a shortage of crude oil within industrialized countries. It is the U.S. government provides financial incentives for commercial and residential solar systems, research and development institutes demonstration projects that make use of solar electricity in government buildings, as well as regulatory structures that support the current solar market. Solar panels are more affordable than ever, from $1,865 per watt back in 1956 to $106 per watt in 1976 (prices are adjusted to reflect the year 2019 dollars).
1973: A crude oil embargo imposed by Arab countries drives prices for oil up by 300%
1973: Solar One is built by the University of Delaware, which was the first building to be powered entirely with solar energy.
1974: the Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act allows the use of solar energy in federal buildings.
1974: To forecast and study energy markets In 1974, in order to forecast and study 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 formed to represent the needs 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 The photovoltaic cell is produced at a rate of more than 500 kW in the world.
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” that meet certain 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 Iran and the Middle East are interrupted by the Iranian Revolution, which forces oil prices up.
1979: U.S. President Jimmy Carter installs solar panels on the White House roof. The panels were later taken down by the president Ronald Reagan.
1981: The 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 over vast distances.
1981: In 1981, the U.S. Department of Energy concludes Solar One, a pilot project for renewable energy from solar located in the Mojave Desert, near Barstow.
1982 Construction of the world’s first solar farm of a large scale near 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 invented in the University of New South Wales which is Australia’s Center for Photovoltaic Engineering.
1985: The development of lithium-ion batteries that can be used later in the future to hold renewable energy.
1991 commercial production of the first lithium-ion battery.
1992: Congress makes the Investment Tax Credit permanent.
2000: Germany establishes a feed in tariff program to boost energy efficiency in the industry of solar.
Time of Solar Cells Maturity (21st Century)
It is a complex but reliable technology that has been supported by the government to ensure it is the most affordable energy in the history of energy. The reason for its success is the S-curve. This means that even though initial growth in a new technology can be slow and driven by only those who are early adopters, it will experience rapid growth as economies scale permits production costs to fall and supply chains to expand. In 2019, solar panels were $106/watt, but they are currently $0.38/watt. Eighty-nine percent of this decline has taken place since the year 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.
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 record for solar cell efficiency, with 40.8 percentage.
2009: Inauguration of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $90 billion for green energy projects and tax incentives. This includes loan guarantees and subsidy programs.
2009. China implements feed-in tariffs to boost growth in the renewable energy sector.
2010 The former President Obama set up solar panels and a solar water heater in the White House.
2011: Solyndra bankrupt, investment fiasco slows down solar industry growth
2013: The world’s 100 largest solar PV installations exceed 100 gigawatts.
2015: Tesla unveils the lithium-ion Powerwall Battery Pack to enable rooftop solar homeowners to save their electricity.
2015. China surpasses Germany to be the top nation in the world in solar capacity of the system.
2015: Google Introduces Project Sunroof to help homeowners evaluate the feasibility of rooftop solar.
2016: One million solar installations across the United States.
2016: Solar Impulse 2 makes the first non-emissions flight in the world.
2016, Las Vegas (Nevada) becomes the largest American city government to run entirely by renewable energy. It includes solar panel, trees and at City Hall.
2017 The year 2017 is the year that in the United States, solar energy employs more workers than any other fossil fuels industry.
2019 First installation of an offshore floating solar farm in the Dutch North Sea.
2020: The construction of a new solar power plant will be less expensive than continuing to operate an existing coal plant.
2020: California is requiring all newly built homes have solar panels by the year 2020.
2020 The 2020 forecast is that, according to 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 on the planet to generate electricity from its California solar farm of 240 megawatts.
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