SOLAR ENERGY

DEFINITION

Solar energy involves tapping the energy of the sun to produce heat, usually hot water, or electricity, either via photovoltaic devices or generators
powered by solar collection systems.

MILESTONES

The history of solar energy is rather fascinating and understandable when one looks at who discovered solar energy. This is solar energy history:

• 1838 - Edmund Becquerel observed and published findings about the nature of materials to turn light into energy.
• 1860 - 1881 - Auguste Mouchout was the first man to patent a design for a motor running on solar
• 1873 - Willoughby Smith, a British national, experimented with the use of selenium solar cells after discovering its sensitivity to light while testing material for underwater telegraph cables.
• 1883 - Charles Fritz turned the sun's rays into electricity. His solar cell had a conversion rate of only 1-2%.
• 1885 - 1889 - Charles Tellier, a Frenchman who is seen as the father of refrigeration, experimented with a non-concentrating/ non-reflecting solar motor.
• 1904 - Henry Willsie was the first to successfully use power at night after generating it during the day.
• 1906 - 1914 - Frank Shuman's company, Sun Power Co., built the largest and most cost-effective solar energy system covering an area of 10,000 square feet or more.
• 1954 - Calvin Fuller, Gerald Pearson, and Daryl Chaplin of Bell Laboratories accidentally discovered the use of silicon as a semiconductor, and this led to the construction of a solar panel with an efficiency rate of 6%.
• 1956 - The first commercial solar cell was made available to the public at a very expensive $300 per watt. It is now being used in radios and toys.
• 1950s - 1960s - Space programs employed solar technologies. In 1958, the Vanguard I was the first satellite that used solar energy to generate electricity.
• 1980 - 1991 - A Los Angeles-based company called Luz Co. produced 95% of the world's solar-based electricity.

Solar Energy today

• There is a renewed focus on solar energy as more people see its advantages and as it becomes more affordable.
• Solar electric systems are now being used to power many homes, businesses, schools, even villages in Africa.
• Solar cells are powering everything, from household appliances to cars.

Solar Energy in the future

• As the number of people longing for a cleaner environment grows, so does the solar energy industry. Solar cells are becoming increasingly cost-effective as more distributors enter the market and new technologies continue to offer more to choose from, along with new products.
• There are those who believe the end of the fossil fuel-fed combustion age is at hand.
• Cars might soon be powered by new fuel cells that create electricity through chemical reaction.
• Screen-printed solar cells are expected to drive prices down even more.
• Solar panels on roofs provide electricity to buildings.
• Solar panels are being mounted to the sides of houses when roof space is not an option.
• Pools are being heated with solar energy for a fraction of the price of conventional heaters.

SOLAR ENERGY MARKET FORECAST

• The output of the global solar energy industry was expected to grow by 72% in 2008 and 2009.
• Europe will remain on top of the solar market. Long-term forecasts on solar market in Europe expect big competition between 2010 and
  2020.
• Germany will be lowering its tariff for nine percent of electricity per year that is generated through solar power starting next January.
• The world's second-largest market, Spain, is waiting for a new feed-in tariff scheme.
• In the Unitesd States, a continuation of the tax credit support scheme for 2009 has still not been made official.
• The market in Greece is very promising but it is still small, with a 20-25 megawatt power (MWp) forecast in 2008, growing tenfold by 2010.
• The emerging solar energy market in France is expected to reach between 120 and 150 MWp in 2008. This figure is likely to rise in 2009 and beyond.
• In Japan, a new subsidy program in 2009 may lead to a new swing in market demand. Last year, market size decreased by 27%, down to 210 MWp. Last July, the government set a new target of 14 gigawatts (GW) of photovoltaics (PV) for 2020.
• A definite growth market for the next few years is forecast in Italy. The country not only has attractive feed-in tariffs for solar power, but the market cap has also been provisionally set at 1,200 MWp.
• In 2010, forecasts suggest that supply could be twice the demand predicted in the global PV market.
• The PV industry will experience steep growth in the production of cells and modules until 2012.
• The supply of crystalline and thin-film modules could reach almost 15 GW in 2010 and 23.7 GW in 2012, up from 3.1 GW in 2007
• The experts forecast a growth of 34 percent on average in total global PV demand from 2008 to 2011.

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