Solar Thermal Timeline

Auguste Mouchout,(France) a mathematics instructor was able to convert solar radiation directly into mechanical power.

William Adams (England) constructed a reflector of flat silvered mirrors arranged in a semicircle. To track the sun's movement, the entire rack was rolled around a semicircular track, projecting the concentrated radiation onto a stationary boiler.

Charles Fritts built the first genuine solar cell. It’s efficiency rate was between 1 – 2 percent.

John Ericsson (U.S.) invented and erected a  Solar engine that used parabolic trough construction.

Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize for his theories that explained the photoelectric effect.

• Energy was scarce during World War II so passive solar buildings became popular in the U.S.
• Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company published a book titled, Your Solar House, which profiled 49 of the nation's greatest solar architects.

Frank Bridgers designed the world's first commercial office building featuring solar water heating and passive design. The Bridgers-Paxton Building, is listed in the National Historic Register as the world's first solar-heated office building.

A "solar furnace" was constructed in Odeillo, France; it featured an eight-story parabolic mirror.

The University of Delaware built "Solar One," a PV/thermal hybrid system. Roof-integrated arrays fed surplus power through a special meter to the utility during the day; power was purchased from the utility at night. In addition to providing electricity, the arrays were like flat-plate thermal collectors; fans blew warm air from over the array to heat storage bins.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) formed. The organization represents the interests of the solar industry and acts as a lobbying group in Washington, DC.

The Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) formed. SERI--now the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)--is a national laboratory that provides research and development support for solar and photovoltaic technologies.

• Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) mandated the purchase of electricity from qualifying facilities that meet certain standards regarding energy source and efficiency.
• A 15-percent energy tax credit was added to an existing 10-percent investment tax credit, providing incentive for capital investment in solar thermal generation facilities for independent power producers.

California enacted a 25-percent tax credit for the capital costs of renewable energy systems.

Solar One, a 10-megawatt central receiver demonstration project, was first operated and established the feasibility of power tower systems. In 1988, the final year of operation, the system achieved an availability of 96 percent.

• California’s Standard Offer Contract system provided renewable electric energy systems a relatively firm and stable market for their output. This allowed the financing of such capital-intensive technologies as solar thermal-electric.
• SEGS I plant (13.8-megawatt), the first in a series of Solar Electric Generating Stations (SEGS) was installed. SEGS I used solar trough technology to produce steam in a conventional steam turbine generator. Natural gas was used as a supplementary fuel for up to 25 percent of the heat input.

• Advanco and McDonnel Douglas systems demonstrated the potential for high-efficiency 25-kilowatt solar dish.
• Dish/engine systems convert the thermal energy in solar radiation to mechanical energy and then to electrical energy in much the same way that conventional power plants convert thermal energy from combustion of a fossil fuel to
  electricity.
• The Sacramento Municipal Utility District commissioned its first 1-megawatt photovoltaic electricity generating facility.

Federal regulations that govern the size of solar power plants were modified to increase maximum plant size to 80 megawatts from 30 megawatts.

Luz International went bankrupt while building its tenth SEGS plant. SEGS I through IX remained in operation.

• A 7.5-kilowatt dish prototype system using an advanced stretched-membrane concentrator, through a joint venture of Sandia National Laboratories and Cummins Power Generation, became operational.
• The Energy Policy Act restored the 10-percent investment tax credit for independent power producers using solar technologies.

• First solar dish generator using a free-piston Stirling engine was tied to a utility grid.
• The Corporation for Solar Technology and Renewable Resources, a public corporation, was established to facilitate solar developments at the Nevada Test Site.
• 3M Company introduced a new silvered plastic film for solar applications.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) prohibits qualifying facility contracts above avoided costs.

A 12-kw solar electric system, in Colorado, was the largest residential installation in the U.S. to be registered with the U.S. Department of Energy's “Million Solar Roofs” program. The system provided most of the electricity for the family of eight's 6,000-square-foot home.

• Home Depot began selling residential solar power systems in three stores in San Diego, California.
• NASA's solar-powered aircraft Helios set a new world altitude record for non-rocket-powered craft: 96,863 feet (more than 18 miles up).

Students from the University of Colorado (CU) built an energy-efficient solar home for the Solar Decathlon, a competition sponsored by the Department of Energy.  Student teams integrated aesthetics and modern conveniences with maximum energy production and optimal efficiency. The houses were transported to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where the CU team took first prize overall.

The Technische Universität Darmstadt won the 2007 Solar Decathlon. The team won the Architecture, Lighting, and Engineering contests.