A brief history of solar energy and solar panel system innovations for clean renewable energy
A brief history of solar energy
The use of solar energy dates back centuries, long before we discovered that sunlight could be used to generate electricity.
Ancient Greek and Roman civilisations would use passive design in their architecture to take advantage of the natural climate and would build their homes and cities with optimal sun exposure to create and sustain maximum levels of energy efficiency.
The photovoltaic effect
However, it wasn’t until 1839 when a young French physicist by the name of Alexandre Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic (or PV) effect, where he found that shining light on an electrode submerged in a conductive solution such as selenium or platinum, would create an electric current.
Yet, even after this discovery there would be minimal advances in photovoltaic power until 1883, when New York inventor Charles Fritts created the first solar cell by coating selenium with a thin layer of gold; achieving an energy conversion rate of 1-2%.
Although the conversion rate was small, it was significant enough to further investigate on how this energy conversion could be increased to viable levels. In 1888, a Russian scientist called Aleksandr Stoletov created the first solar cell based on the PV effect of light streaming onto materials to release electrons, and so began the journey of solar panel evolution into those that we use today.
Solar panel innovation
The solar panel industry didn’t really hit its stride until the 1950s when a company called Bell Labs began to develop silicon-based solar cells, which then led to the manufacture of panels (a collection of solar cells). Solar panels’ efficacy and efficiency continued to improve however despite these advancements, solar panels remained highly uneconomical due to their costly manufacturing processes.
Ironically, the push to make solar energy more affordable came from oil companies who understood that oil production would eventually prove to be unsustainable and ultimately very expensive, creating the need for further research and development of solar panels.
So, with financial backing from Exxon, Dr. Elliot Berman designed a much less expensive solar cell and brought the cost per watt down by a massive 80%. With such a successful advancement, solar energy finally became a notable competitor in the energy supply industry.
Solar panels now and beyond
Since 2008, solar power has grown exponentially in functionality and efficiency while also becoming much more affordable and accessible to the wider market. With such rapid technological advancements, solar power will no doubt continue to remain at the forefront as the preferred clean energy source, both in Australia and all around the world.
