The year that 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. At the turn of 20th-century{,|| it was the time that} the space and defense industries realized the potential of solar energy. In the early days, it was a promising but expensive option to replace fossil fuels. The technology has advanced and is today a viable and affordable technology that is rapidly replacing coal, oil and natural gas in the present energy market. This timeline highlights the most important innovators and the events that led to the advancement of solar technology.
The Age of Discovery (19th-20th century)
The mid-19th century saw the birth of physics with discoveries in magnetism, electricity along with the science of light. Researchers and scientists laid the basis for the majority of the development of solar energy.
1839: 19-year-old Frenchman Alexandre-Edmond becquerel creates the first solar cell in the world.1 His researches on electricity and light inspired subsequent developments in photovoltaics. The European Photovoltaic Sun Energy Conference and Exhibition award the Becquerel prize each year.
The year is 1861. Auguste (or Augustin), a mathematician and physicist, invents 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 may change due to radiation either from light or heat action. “2
1882. Abel Pifre creates a “solar engine” that generates enough electricity to power the solar printer. (pictured below)
1883: Charles Fritts, an inventor, designs the first solar cell using selenium and gold. It converts solar radiation to electricity at a mere 1% efficiency.
1883: John Ericsson, an inventor, designs an electric sun motor using parabolic tube construction (PTC), to concentrate sunlight to generate boiler steam. PTC continues to be utilized for solar power generation.
1884: Charles Fritts places solar panels on the roof of a New York City rooftop.
1903: Aubrey Eneas, a Pasadena-based businessman, establishes the Solar Motor Company to market solar-driven steam engines for irrigation projects. The company soon fails.
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)
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 and photons reveals the mechanism by the light-emitting particles cause electrons to be sucked out of silicon crystals and create electrical currents.
The year was 1888. Wilhelm Hallwachs, a scientist and physicist, explains the physics behind photovoltaic cells. This is the basis of what we refer to as”the” Hallwachs Effect.
1905: Albert Einstein publishes, “On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning The Production and Transformation of Light,” that explains how light generates an electrical current by knocking electrons out of certain metal atoms.
1916: Jan Czochralski, a chemist, invents a way to make single crystals out of metal. This is the basis of the creation of semiconductor wafers. They are still used in electronic devices and solar cells.
1917. Albert Einstein provides a theoretical basis for photovoltaics. Einstein explains that light is a packet carrying electromagnetic force.
1929 Gilbert Lewis, a scientist, coined the term “photons” in 1929, to describe Einstein’s electromagnetic energy packets.
Age of Solar Technology Development (mid-20th Century)
The laboratory is no longer the place for serious research on the advancement in solar technology that is based on the invention by monocrystalline silicon cell. It is similar to other technologies. It was created from research done for U.S. defense and aerospace industries. The first successful application of the technology is research and satellites. While solar energy is extremely effective but the majority of the technology is not commercially available.
1941 Russell Ohl, a Bell Laboratories engineer, files a patent application for the first monocrystalline silicon solar cell.
1947: The post-war shortage of energy makes passive solar houses popular.
1951: The first germanium solar cells for solar power are built.
1954 The first silicon solar cell is manufactured through Bell Laboratories. Although they are less robust than current cells, can still generate significant amounts of electricity at around 4% efficiency.
1955 First phone call powered by solar made.
1956 The first radio powered by solar energy was released through General Electric. It is able to operate in both daylight and dark.
1958: Vanguard I, the first spacecraft powered by solar power is launched.
1960. Car that was equipped that had a rooftop solar panel and powered by a battery of 72 volts. It was driven through London, England.
The year 1961 was the Year of the Conference arranged 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 solar cells that were manufactured by Bell Laboratories.
1967 The the Soviet Union’s Soyuz 1 is the first spacecraft powered by solar energy 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 spurred by the energy crisis of the 1970s. The low prices for oil and the slower economic development are a result of the shortage of petroleum in industrialized nations. The U.S. government provides financial incentives for commercial and residential solar panels Research and development institutes demonstration projects that make use of solar electricity in government buildings, as in regulatory structures that help the current solar industry. Solar panels are more affordable than ever, from $1,865 per watt back in 1956 to just $106 per watt in 1976 (prices adjusted for 2019 dollars).
1973: A crude oil embargo put in place by Arab nations 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 by solar power.
1974: 1974: The Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act allows the utilization of solar energy in federal structures.
1974: To forecast and study energy markets 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 encourage the commercialization and advancement of solar energy.
1974: The Solar Energy Industries Association is created 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 In 1977, photovoltaic cells are manufactured 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), which created net metering, requires utilities to buy electricity through “qualifying institutions” which meet certain energy source and efficiency standards.
1978 1977: the Energy Tax Act created the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) as well as the Residential Energy Credit in order to encourage the purchase of solar panels.
1979: Exports of oil from Iran and 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 panels in the White House roof. The panels were later taken down by President Ronald Reagan.
1981: The very first concentrated PV system is put into operation, financed by the United States of America and Saudi Arabia.
1981: the Solar Challenger is the first solar-powered aircraft capable of flying over vast distances.
1981: The U.S. Department of Energy completes Solar One, a pilot project for renewable energy from solar located in the Mojave Desert, near Barstow.
1982 The year 1982 saw the construction of the first large-scale solar power plant close to Hesperia near California.
1982 1983: 1982: 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, the country’s Center for Photovoltaic Engineering.
1985: Development of lithium-ion batteries which can be used later for storage of renewable power.
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 that will help boost energy efficiency in the industry of solar.
The Age of Solar Cells Maturity (21st Century)
The solar energy system is complex but reliable technology that has been supported by the federal government to ensure it is the most affordable source of energy in history. Its popularity is due to the S-curve. This means that, while the initial growth in a technology can be slow and driven by a small number of early adopters, it experiences rapid growth as economies grow permits production costs to fall and supply chains can expand. In 2019, solar modules were $106/watt, but they are now $0.38/watt. Eighty-nine percent of this decrease has taken place since the year 2010.
2001: Home Depot starts selling residential solar power systems.
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 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. It also includes loans with guarantees as well as subsidy.
2009. China implements feed-in tariffs to promote development in renewable energy industry.
2010 The former president Obama set up solar panels and the solar water heater inside the White House.
2011: Solyndra bankruptcy, investment fiasco slows down solar industry expansion
2013: The world’s 100 largest solar PV installations exceed 100 gigawatts.
2015. Tesla unveils the lithium-ion Powerwall Battery Pack to enable solar rooftop homeowners to save their electric power.
The year 2015 is a record-breaking one: China exceeds 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 viability 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 the first American city government to run completely on renewable energy. It includes solar panel and trees in the city’s 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 will require all new homes to be equipped with solar panels by 2020
2020: According to International Energy Agency, “Solar is now the reigning king of the electricity market.”
2021: Apple, Inc. announced that it would be developing the biggest lithium-ion battery on the planet to produce electric power from the California solar farm of 240 megawatts.
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