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Home Home and Family Family The History of Solar Power Systems
The History of Solar Power Systems PDF Print E-mail
Written by Jared Sanders   
The modern solar panel is the product of several years of research and development. This device made use of a phenomenon already recognized more than 150 years ago. If we should discuss who invented solar panels then we should look at the story of how the device evolved.
by JaredSanders


The modern solar panel is the product of several years of research and development. This device made use of a phenomenon already recognized more than 150 years ago. If we should discuss who invented solar panels then we should look at the story of how the device evolved.

The phenomenon where sunlight caused some materials to generate electric current was discovered in 1839. The Frenchman A. E. Becquerel was the first man to notice the photovoltaic effect. 44 later years, Charles Fritts developed the world's first solar cell.

The cell that Charles Fritts invented was made from the semiconductor element Selenium with thin coat of Gold around it. However we now know that selenium is not a very efficient semiconductor. Only 1% of light was converted into electricity. This poor efficiency made it impractical for generating electricity on a large scale.

In 1954, a relatively effective photovoltaic cell was made by Bell Laboratories. At that time the cost of manufacturing photovoltaic cells was expensive. It costs 250 dollars to make cells capable of generating 1 watt of electricity. Because of such high cost, the photovoltaic cell still had no practical use.

It was in the space age and the widespread use of satellites that really spurred the development of modern solar cells. Satellites required a light weight source of power. Only photovoltaic cells fitted the required power to weight ratio. Intensive research resulted in more efficient manufacturing processes so that one watt of electricity could be generated from $100 of photovoltaic cells.

In the early 1970s some big oil companies were already projecting that in thirty years conventionally fuelled powered power plants would not be capable of generating cheap electricity. They were now researching into alternative source of power which included sunlight. One big oil company that was looking into the promise of such energy was Exxon.

Exxon founded Solar Power Corporation or SPC. Headed by Elliot Berman, they found more efficient ways of manufacturing photovoltaic cells. They were able to lower the cost of production to $10 for watt of current.

The cost of generating electricity today from sunlight averages $3.40. When this cost becomes competitive with the cost of electricity that comes from conventional sources then grid parity takes place. The US government projects that by 2015, the cost of power generated by alternative sources should be almost the same as that from the grid. When this finally happens expect a strong shift to green sources of electrical power.

While the first photovoltaic cell can be attributed to Charles Fritts, the story of who invented solar panels can never be attributed to a single person. This is especially true when modern cells are considered. A wide variety of technologies are used to harness the energy of sunlight for creating usable energy. Each technology used has a list of people who were involved in making it possible. A long list of names would be involved when talking about how modern alternative energy generation from the sun came about.

About the Author:

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