Photovoltaic Discoveries

Edmond Becquerel, a French physicist examined spectroscopic and photochemical phenomena. He was fascinated with the difference between fluorescence and phosphorescence and he designed a phosphoroscope, a device capable of measuring the duration of time between the exposure of a solid, liquid, or gas to a light source and the substance’s exhibition of phosphorescence. This tool was not only an aid in the development of photographic film, but it also helped Edmond discover the photovoltaic effect. 

1879 Adams and Day observe photovoltaic effect in selenium

1930 Quantum theory of solids proposed by  Wilson

1949 Bardeen, Brattain and Shockley invent the  transistor

1954 Renolds et al. report solar cell based on cadmium sulphide

1973 Oil crisis spurs growth of terrestial applications

• Photovoltaic systems create no atmospheric pollution even though the purification and doping of Silicon is energy intensive.
• PV systems are modular and can be quickly installed. 
• Power can be generated and tied to the grid of transmission lines.
• PV systems can be work in areas that grid connected systems would be difficult if not impossible.
• Recent discoveries in the photovoltaic industry have made the PV energy industry completive with fossil fuels.

Today photovoltaic power generating stations  are springing up in sunbelt areas all over the world. Sometimes the PV stations are joined with windmill generators so that power may be generated under a variety of weather conditions.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) cell manufacturers produced a record 10,700 megawatts of PV cells globally in 2009 a 51% increase from the year before. Solar PV is the world's fastest-growing power technology that now generates electricity in more than 100 countries.

There are two broad categories of PV: crystalline silicon and thin-film. Crystalline silicon cells account for more than 80 percent of the annual PV market. But thin-film PV, a relatively new technology that is less efficient but also less expensive to make and potentially adaptable to more applications, is gaining ground. In fact, First Solar, a thin-film company headquartered in Arizona with most of its production capacity in Malaysia, was the top PV manufacturing firm in 2009, contributing roughly 10 percent of world PV production.

The trend toward increasing photovoltaic production should be obvious. It has been spurred on by: tax rebate incentives, the increasing cost of energy and  recent technological innovations. China is a world leader in PV production due to the low cost of labor in heavily populated areas. 

Germany was one of the first countries to implement a feed-in tariff. Due to its widespread success, the model has now become a template for many other countries since. However, due to this success, the government will  cut subsidies by about 13%. 

Our civilization is now entering a "solar age" sooner than many have anticipated. Change of any kind always brings stress, and global change brings global stress, but the human race must adjust to a world with a limited supply of oil to survive in this new age of enlightenment.  We must stop burning precious non renewable resources and learn to connect directly with natural sources of energy. 

In the future more homes will look like the one below. We are now on the endangered species list and we know it. As Buckminster Fuller once said we have we have wandered too far from the roots. The journey back home will be difficult, but it will be a better path than we are now on.  I hope that some of the information you find on this website makes your journey a little easier. See you on the other side.