A History of Solar Energy

Posted by Carol Sonenklar on October 4, 2009 at 8:09 am

A solar-powered car designed at MIT. (image: worldculturepictorial.com)

If you think solar energy is a modern concept, think again: Newsweek has compiled a comprehensive slide show documenting the history of solar power, beginning with the Romans who warmed their bathhouses with strategically placed windows.

Skip to the 19th century, when it was the fear of coal shortages that prompted a surge of interest in solar technology. French inventor and mathematician Augustin Mouchot created a solar machine that produced ice for the 1878 Paris Exhibition and later a solar engine that was used to power a printing press.

Although the 1970s oil embargo was the real motivator behind a serious investment of solar energy as a viable alternative to oil and petroleum, there have been other interesting and lesser-known milestones in the evolution of solar power including:
o    The first modern solar cell was unveiled at Bell Laboratories in 1954. The cell used a silicon semiconductor to convert light into electricity.
o    The first solar-powered satellite, Vanguard 1, was launched in 1958. (And nearly all spacecraft since then have used solar energy to help perform their missions.)
o    The first solar-powered calculator was created in 1978.
o    President Jimmy Carter put a solar heating system on the roof of the White House. It was later removed by President Ronald Reagan.
o    The first solar plant to provide electricity to a public utility was built in the Mojave Desert in 1981.
o    GM’s solar car, the Sunraycer, won the first Solar Challenge auto race in 1987.
o    In 1987, FAFCO introduced Hot2o, the first lightweight panels that homeowners can install themselves.
o    Scientists created plastic solar-cell strips that can be wrapped around portable devices or woven into power-producing clothing.
o    In 2007, Portugal builds the world’s largest solar power plant; 40 percent of the country’s electricity currently comes from renewable resources.