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 handful of steps inspired by scientists and inventors. The 20th century was when{,|| it was the time that} the defense and space industries realized the value of solar energy. At the time it was a promising, but still expensive, alternatives to the fossil fuels. The field has grown and is now a viable and affordable technology that is quickly replacing coal, oil as well as natural gas, in the present energy market. This timeline highlights the most important people and events that contributed to the creation of solar technology.
The Age of Discovery (19th-20th century)
The 19th century was the beginning of physics, with discoveries in the fields of electricity, magnetism as well as the research of light. Scientists and inventors laid the groundwork 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 to be built anywhere in the world.1 His work on electricity and light inspired the development of photovoltaics in the following years. In the European Photovoltaic Sun Energy Conference and Exhibition gives out the Becquerel award each year.
1861: Auguste (or Augustin), a 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 resistance to electricity of selenium may change due to radiation heat, light or chemical action. “2
1882. Abel Pifre creates a “solar engine”, which generates enough electricity for the solar printer. (pictured below)
The year is 1883. Charles Fritts, an inventor, creates the first solar cells made of the elements of gold and selenium. It converts solar radiation to electricity at a mere 1percent efficiency.
1883: John Ericsson, an inventor, creates an electric sun motor using the construction of parabolic tubes (PTC) to concentrate solar radiation to power a boiler steam. PTC continues to be utilized in solar thermal power plants.
1884. Charles Fritts places solar panels on the roof of a New York City rooftop.
1903: Aubrey Eneas, a Pasadena-based entrepreneur, starts the Solar Motor Company to market solar-powered steam engines for irrigation projects. The company soon fails.
1912-1913: Frank Shuman, an engineer at the Sun Power Company, uses PTC to build the world’s first solar-powered power station 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 worlds of electrons as well as photons shows the way in which light particles can alter the electrons in silicon crystals and create electric currents.
In 1888, Wilhelm Hallwachs, a scientist, describes the physics of photovoltaic cells. This is what we now refer to as”the Hallwachs Effect.” Hallwachs Effect.
1905: Albert Einstein publishes, “On a Heuristic Approach to the Production 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 using metal. This is the principle behind making semiconductor wafers that are still used in electronics or solar cells.
1917. Albert Einstein provides a theoretical foundation for photovoltaics. He introduces the idea that light acts as an electromagnetic wave that is carried by a packet.
1929: Gilbert Lewis, a physicist, coined”photons”, a term coined by physicist Gilbert Lewis “photons” to refer to Einstein’s electromagnetic energy packets.
Age of Solar Technology Development (mid-20th Century)
The lab has become no more the best place for serious research on the development of solar energy technology that is based on the invention of monocrystalline silicon cells. It’s like other technologies. It was developed from studies conducted by the U.S. defense and aerospace industries. The first successful application of this technology was research and satellites. Although solar energy is extremely efficient however, the majority of its technology cannot be commercialized.
1941 Russell Ohl, a Bell Laboratories engineer, files a patent application for the first silicon-based monocrystalline solar cell.
1947: The post-war shortage of energy makes passive solar houses popular.
1951: First solar cells made of germanium are built.
1954 The first silicon solar cell is made in 1954 by Bell Laboratories. Although they are less robust 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 solar-powered radio was released in 1956 by General Electric. It is able to operate in both dark and daylight.
1958: Vanguard I, the first spacecraft powered by solar energy, is launched.
1960: A car fitted that had a rooftop solar panel which was powered by a battery with a voltage of 72volts. It was driven around London, England.
1961: A conference sponsored 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 is powered by 3,600 cells manufactured by Bell Laboratories.
1967: the Soviet Union’s Soyuz 1 is the first spacecraft powered by solar power to transport humans.
1972: The Synchronar 2100 solar-powered watch goes for sale.
The Age of Solar Power Growth (late-20th century)
First commercializations in solar technologies were triggered through the economic crisis of the 1970s. In the 1970s, low oil prices and slow economic growth 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 systems, research and development institutes demonstration projects that make use of solar energy in government buildings, as well in regulatory structures that help the current solar market. Solar panels are now cheaper than ever before, ranging from $1,865 for a watt in 1956 to just $106 per watt in 1976 (prices are adjusted to reflect the year 2019 dollars).
1973: An embargo on crude oil by Arab nations drives oil prices up by up to 300%
1973: Solar One is built by the University of Delaware, which was the first building that is entirely powered with solar energy.
1974: 1974: The Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act allows for the utilization of solar energy in federal structures.
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 is created to encourage the commercialization and advancement of solar energy.
1974: The Solar Energy Industries Association is formed to represent the needs and requirements of the solar industry.
1977: Congress establishes the Solar Energy Research Institute. It is now called”the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
1977 The photovoltaic cell is produced at a rate of more than 500 kW worldwide.
1977: Establishment of the U.S. Department of Energy.
1978{:|| 1977:} 1978: The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), which created net metering, obliges utilities to purchase electric power from “qualifying institutions” that 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: 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 removed by the president Ronald Reagan.
1981: The very first concentrated PV system is put in operation, financed by the United States of America and Saudi Arabia.
1981 The Solar Challenger is the first solar-powered aircraft capable of flying across large distances.
1981 1981: 1981: The U.S. Department of Energy concludes Solar One, a pilot project to harness renewable energy from solar in the Mojave Desert, near Barstow.
1982 Construction of the world’s first large-scale solar farm close to Hesperia in California.
1982 1982: The Sacramento Municipal Utility District appointed its first solar power plant.
1985: Cells made of silicon that had a efficiency of 20% were developed by the University of New South Wales in which is Australia’s Center for Photovoltaic Engineering.
1985: Development of lithium-ion batteries that can later be used for storage of renewable power.
1991 commercial manufacturing of the very first lithium-ion batteries.
1991: Congress makes the Investment Tax Credit permanent.
2000: Germany establishes a feed in tariff program that will help boost the solar industry.
Time of Solar Cells Maturity (21st Century)
It is a complex but reliable 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 initial growth in a technology can be slow and driven by a small number of those who are early adopters, it will experience rapid growth as economies scale allows production costs to drop and supply chains to grow. In 2019, solar modules were priced at $106/watt. They are currently $0.38/watt. Eighty-nine percent of this decrease 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 leader in solar technology.
2006: 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 by achieving 40.8 percent.
2009 Inauguration of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
2009: 2009. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act offers $90 billion in renewable energy and tax incentives. It also includes loans with guarantees and subsidy programs.
2009: China adopts feed-in tariffs that boost development in renewable energy sector.
2010 The former Obama was President. Obama put up solar panels and the solar water heater inside the White House.
2011. Solyndra collapse, and investment crisis slows solar expansion
2013 The world’s largest 100 solar PV installations have surpassed 100 gigawatts.
2015: Tesla announces its lithium-ion Powerwall Battery Pack to enable solar rooftop users to keep their electricity.
The year 2015 is a record-breaking one: China exceeds Germany to be the top nation in the world in solar system capacity.
2015: Google Introduces Project Sunroof To Help Homeowners Evaluate the feasibility of rooftop solar.
2016 1 million solar installations in 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 administration to operate completely using renewable energy. The solar power system includes and trees at City Hall.
2017 In the United States, solar energy is the most employed of all other fossil fuels industry.
2019 First installation of an floating solar farm offshore in the Dutch North Sea.
2020: Building a new solar power plant is more affordable than operating an existing coal power plant.
2020 California will require all new homes to include solar panels by the year 2020.
2020 2020: According to International Energy Agency, “Solar is now the most powerful of the market for electricity.”
2021 Apple, Inc. announced it was developing the biggest lithium-ion battery on the planet to generate energy from its California solar farm that is 250 megawatts.
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