History

While early mankind used passive solar for light and heat, it was in 1890 that the photovoltaic effect was observed by Henri Becquerel. This became a subject of scientific inquiry through the early 20th century. In fact, Albert Einstein's only Nobel Prize was awarded for his work in solar power research.

In 1954, Bell Labs in the U.S. introduced the first solar photovoltaic device that produced a useful amount of electricity. By 1958, solar cells were being used in small-scale scientific and commercial applications, including the space program.

The energy crisis of the 1970s saw the beginning of major interest in using solar cells for power here on Earth, but prohibitive prices (approximately 30 times current prices) made large scale applications unfeasible. About the same time, solar hot water systems were more cost-effective, and many still operate decades later on homes across the nation.

Industry developments and research during this period made PV feasible for remote applications, especially for the telecommunications industry, and a cycle of increasing production and decreasing costs began which continues today.

From 1984 through 1990, the first solar electric generation station (SEGS) plants were built in California's Mohave Desert. The nine plants still operate today. In fact, plants III - IX were upgraded with new tubes for improved efficiency.

The new millennium has seen PV become cost-effective in a rapidly growing number of areas as research and production advances continue every day. Global PV market growth has averaged more than 25 percent annually over the last 10 years, with worldwide growth rates for the last 5 years well over 35 percent. At these rates, installed solar power doubles every 4 years or less. However, this rapid growth is still from a small base; PV still accounts for a small percentage of electricity generation worldwide.

The U.S. solar energy market grew more than 48 percent in 2007 as a result of state and federal policies and incentives. Future growth depends upon continued incentives and improved efficiencies along the supply chain until the price is competitive with traditional fossil fuels. Industry experts anticipate this will occur in 2015 or 2016. Other factors like a cost for emitting carbon may help the solar energy reach cost-parity sooner.

Learn more by reading our Solar History Factsheet