What was the year Solar Energy was invented?
When Solar Energy was invented?
The history of solar energy began in 1954 with just a few small steps, driven by scientists and inventors. At the turn of 20th-century, the space and defense industries realized the potential from solar energy. By then it was a promising but expensive alternative to fossil fuels. The industry has matured and is now a viable and affordable technology that is quickly replacing oil, coal, or natural gas within the present energy market. This timeline will highlight the major innovators and the events that led to the development of solar technology.
The Age of Discovery (19th-20th century)
The 19th century was the beginning of physics thanks to discoveries in electricity, magnetism and the study of light. Researchers and scientists laid the foundation for the entire history of the solar power.
1839: A 19-year old Frenchman Alexandre-Edmond Bécquerel designs his first photovoltaic cell anywhere in the world.1 His work on electricity and light influenced subsequent developments in photovoltaics. It is the European Photovoltaic Sun Energy Conference and Exhibition awards the Becquerel prize every year.
The year is 1861. Auguste (or Augustin), a mathematician and physicist, patents the solar motor.
1873: Willoughby S. 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 light, heat or chemical reaction. “2
The year is 1882. Abel Pifre creates a “solar engine” that generates enough electricity for his solar printing press. (pictured below)
In 1883, Charles Fritts, an inventor, creates the first solar cell using the elements of gold and selenium. It converts solar radiation into electricity with a mere one percent efficiency.
1883: John Ericsson, an inventor, develops the sun motor, which uses the parabolic tube (PTC), to concentrate solar radiation to power a boiler steam. PTC is still being 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 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 with the Sun Power Company, uses PTC to build the first solar thermal power plant anywhere in the world.
The Age of Understanding Solar Panels (late-19th-early-20th centuries)
Modern theoretical physics has helped in gaining a better understanding of photovoltaic electricity. Quantum Physics’ description of the subatomic worlds of electrons and photons reveals the mechanism by which light particles can alter the electrons in silicon crystals and create electric currents.
1888: Wilhelm Hallwachs, a scientist and physicist, explains the physics behind photovoltaic cell photovoltaics. This is what we now refer to as”the Hallwachs Effect.” Hallwachs Effect.
1905: Albert Einstein publishes, “On an Heuristic Perspective on the Production of Light and the Transformation of Light,” which explains how light creates an electrical current by knocking electrons from certain metal atoms.
1916: Jan Czochralski, a chemical engineer, discovers a way to create single crystals using metal. This is the principle behind creating semiconductor wafers, which are still used in electronics as well as solar cell.
1917. Albert Einstein provides a theoretical foundation for photovoltaics. Einstein explains that light is a packet carrying electromagnetic force.
1929 Gilbert Lewis, a physicist, coined the term “photons” in 1929, to describe Einstein’s electromagnetic energy packets.
Age of Solar Technology Development (mid-20th Century)
The lab does not serve as the ideal place for serious research on the advancement of solar energy technology that is based on the development of monocrystalline silicon cells. It is like other technologies. It was developed from research conducted to support U.S. defense and aerospace industries. The first successful application of the technology is the space-based exploration satellite. Even though solar energy is highly effective, most of its technology isn’t commercially viable.
1941 Russell Ohl, a Bell Laboratories engineer, files an application for patents on the first monocrystalline silicon-based solar cell.
1947: Post-war energy scarcity makes passive solar houses popular.
1951: The first germanium solar cells for solar power are constructed.
1954: The first silicon solar cell was produced by Bell Laboratories. These cells, while weaker than the current cell, still generate significant quantities of electricity at approximately 4 percent efficiency.
1955 First phone call powered by solar made.
1956 The first radio powered by solar energy was launched by General Electric. It can be used in dark and daylight.
1958: Vanguard I, the first spacecraft powered by solar power is launched.
1960. A vehicle equipped by a roof made of solar panels and powered by a battery with a voltage of 72volts. It was driven around London, England.
1961: 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 by solar energy, is powered by 3,600 cells manufactured by Bell Laboratories.
1967 The the Soviet Union’s Soyuz 1 is the first spacecraft powered by solar energy to carry people.
1972: The Synchronar 2100 watch powered by solar goes for sale.
Age of Solar Power Growth (late-20th century)
The first commercializations of solar technology were spurred by the energy crisis in the 1970s. Low oil prices and slow economic growth are a consequence of a lack of oil in developed nations. In the U.S., U.S. government provides financial incentives to residential and commercial solar panels Research and development institutes, demonstration projects that use solar electricity in government buildings, as being regulatory structures to support the current solar industry. Solar panels are now cheaper than ever before, starting at $1,865 for a watt in 1956, to $106 per watt in the year 1976 (prices are adjusted to reflect 2019 dollars).
1973: An embargo on crude oil by Arab nations drives oil prices 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 permits the utilization of solar energy in federal structures.
1974: To forecast and study energy markets In 1974, in order to forecast and study energy markets, in 1974, the International Energy Agency was established.
1974: U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration is created to help promote commercialization and advancement for solar power.
1974: The Solar Energy Industries Association is created to represent the interests and needs of the solar industry.
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 with a power output of over 500 kW worldwide.
1977: Establishment of the U.S. Department of Energy.
1978 1977: the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), which created net metering, obliges utilities to purchase energy from “qualifying institutions” which meet certain energy source and efficiency standards.
1978: 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 in the Middle East are interrupted by the Iranian Revolution, which forces oil prices up.
1979: U.S. President Jimmy Carter installs solar cells onto the White House roof. These panels were later removed by President Ronald Reagan.
1981: The first concentrating PV system goes into operation, with funding from Saudi Arabia and the United States of America and Saudi Arabia.
1981 1981: The Solar Challenger is the first solar-powered aircraft that can fly across long distances.
1981: In 1981, the U.S. Department of Energy concludes Solar One, a pilot project to harness solar thermal energy located in the Mojave Desert, near Barstow.
1982 The year 1982 saw the construction of the first large-scale solar power plant near Hesperia in California.
1982 1983: In 1982, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District appointed its first solar power plant.
1985: Silicon cells that had a efficiency of 20% were created at the University of New South Wales which is the country’s Center for Photovoltaic Engineering.
1985: The development of lithium-ion batteries which can later be used in the future to hold renewable energy.
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 to boost production of solar panels.
Age of Solar Cells Maturity (21st Century)
It is a complex but reliable technology that has been embraced by the federal government to ensure it is the most affordable energy in history. Its success 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 the early adopters, it sees rapid growth when economies expand permits production costs to fall and supply chains to grow. In 2019, solar panels were at $106/watt, however they are currently $0.38/watt. The majority of the drop 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.
2006. California Public Utilities Commission approves California Solar Initiative, which offers incentives for solar development.
2008. NREL sets a record for the first time in world record in 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 clean energy investments as well as tax incentives. This includes loan guarantees and subsidies.
2009: China introduces tariffs on feed-ins in order to boost expansion in the renewable energy sector.
2010 Obama: Former Obama was President. Obama installed solar panels as well as the solar water heater inside the White House.
2011. Solyndra bankruptcy, investment crisis slows solar expansion
2013 The world’s largest 100 solar PV installations exceed 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 surpasses Germany to become the world’s top country in solar capacity for the solar system.
2015: Google Launches Project Sunroof to help homeowners evaluate the viability roof solar.
2016: One million solar installations in 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 administration to operate completely using renewable energy. It includes solar panel and trees on City Hall.
2017: In the United States, solar energy employs more people than any other fossil fuel industry.
2019: Installation of the first 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 is requiring all newly built homes include solar panels by 2020
2020 2020: According to International Energy Agency, “Solar is now the most powerful of the market for electricity.”
2021: Apple, Inc. announced that it would be creating the largest lithium-ion battery on the planet to produce energy from its California solar farm of 240 megawatts.
