The groundwork for the invention of solar panels was made possible by Edmund Becquerel, a French scientist, who is widely recognized as the &#;father of solar energy&#; and who discovered the photovoltaic effect, which is the process of light directly converting to energy &#; through semi-conductive materials, which are joined together to transfer photons to electrons, allowing an electrical current to form.
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In , Becquerel found light could increase electricity generation when two electrodes interacted with a conducting solution when he was 19 years old. While experimenting in his father&#;s laboratory, he placed silver chloride in an acidic solution. He then exposed it to light, connecting it to platinum electrodes.
Becquerel was interested in more than photovoltaics, investigating effects and characters of solar radiation and electric light. He invented a phosphoroscope, which allowed the interval between exposures to light and the effects to be observed, varied, and measured. Later, he became the Chairman of Physics at the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers in .
We'll explore some of the biggest events that have occurred in the history of solar energy:
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Some of the earliest uses of solar technology were actually in outer space, where solar was used to power satellites. In , the Vanguard I satellite used a tiny one-watt panel to power its radios. Later that year, the Vanguard II, Explorer III, and Sputnik-3 were all launched with PV technology on board. In , NASA was responsible for launching the first Nimbus spacecraft, a satellite able to run entirely on a 470-watt solar array. In , NASA launched the world's first Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, powered by a one-kilowatt array.
In , the University of Delaware was responsible for constructing the first solar building, named "Solar One." The system ran on a hybrid supply of solar thermal and solar PV power. It was also the first instance of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) &#; the array didn't use solar panels but instead had solar integrated into the rooftop, similar to the design for Tesla's new roof product.
Between and , Hoffman Electronics made a number of breakthroughs with photovoltaic efficiency, improving the efficiency record from 8% to 14%. The next major achievement was in when the University of New South Wales achieved 20% efficiency for silicon cells. In , the National Renewable Energy Laboratory collaborated with SpectroLab Inc. to create a solar cell with 33.3% efficiency. The University of New South Wales broke that record again in when researchers reached 34.5% efficiency.
In , Paul MacCready built Solar Challenger, the first aircraft to run on solar power, and flew it across the English Channel from France to the U.K. In , the remote-controlled solar airplane "Pathfinder" set an altitude record after reaching 80,000 feet. NASA broke that record in when they reached 96,000 feet with their non-rocket aircraft. In , Bertrand Piccard completed the first zero-emissions flight worldwide with Solar Impulse 2, the world's largest and most powerful solar-powered airplane today.
In , President Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed in the White House during his term as president. However, in , President Ronald Reagan ordered the White House solar panels to be removed. In , President Barack Obama requested that solar panels and a solar water heater be installed in the White House. Both were installed during Obama's first term.
Prices for solar panels have dropped substantially over the past few decades, leading to a surge in consumer demand that has produced more than one million U.S. installations as of early . In , solar panels cost roughly $300 per watt. By , that figure had dropped to just over $100 a watt. Today, a solar panel can cost as little as $0.50 a watt. Consider this: since the year , solar panel prices have dropped by at least 10 percent every single year. The plummeting cost of solar is largely responsible for the growing popularity of solar and the legitimacy of PV as a reliable energy source in today's world.
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