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HISTORY OF SOLAR

June 30, 2023

In 1954, Bell Labs developed the first silicon photovoltaic cell. Although solar energy had previously been captured and converted into usable energy through various methods, only after 1954 did solar power begin to become a viable source of electricity to power devices over extended periods of time. The first solar cells converted solar radiation to electricity at an efficiency of 4 percent – for reference, many widely available solar panels today can convert sunlight to solar power at above 20 percent efficiency, a number constantly on the rise. Although adoption of solar energy was slow at first, a number of U.S. state and federal incentives and policies contributed to driving down the cost of solar panels far enough to become more widely adopted. At this point, solar power accounts for enough capacity to power 11 million of the 126 million households in the U.S. alone.