A photovoltaic cell, also called a PV or solar cell, is a device which converts light(radiant) energy directly into electrical energy. PV cells are usually made from silicon. The first PV cells were very inefficient, converting less than one percent of radiant energy into electricity. Today, some solar cells have a 40 percent conversion rate.
1904 | Wilhelm Hallwachs discovered that a combination of copper and cuprous oxide was sensitive to light. | |
1905 | Albert Einstein published a paper on the photoelectric effect. He would win a Nobel Prize in 1921 for these theories. | |
1950s | Inventors at Bell Labs (Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson) developed a more efficient PV cell (6 percent) made from silicon. This was the first solar cell capable of generating enough power from the sun to run everyday electrical equipment. | |
1955 | Western Electric began to sell commercial licenses for silicon photovoltaic technologies. Early successful products included PV-powered dollar bill changers and devices that decoded computer punch cards and tape | |
1958 | Federal support for photovoltaic technology was initially tied to the space program to provide power for the Vanguard satellite. | |
1973 | Spurred by the oil embargo, interest in space applications of photovoltaics grew. | |
1970s | By the late 1970s, a program for the development of distributed photovoltaics was established by the U.S. Government at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, focusing on design and demonstration issues for the buildings sector. | |
1978 |
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1980 |
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1985 | The 6-megawatt Carissa Plains plant was added to Southern California Edison’s system. The project was later dismantled. |
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1989 |
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1990 |
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1992 | The University of South Florida fabricated a 15.89-percent efficient thin-film cell, breaking the 15-percent barrier for the first time | |
1993 |
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1994 | The National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed a solar cell made of gallium indium phosphide and gallium arsenide; it was the first one of its kind to exceed 305 conversion efficiency. | |
1995 | Joint venture by Amoco and Enron announced their intention to use amorphous silicon modules for utility- scale photovoltaic applications. | |
1998 | Subhendu Guha, a scientists noted for his pioneer work in amorphous silicon, led the invention of flexible solar shingles, a roofing material and state-of-the-art technology for converting sunlight into electricity on buildings. | |
1999 |
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2000 |
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2001 | BP and BP Solar announced the first U.S. BP Connect gasoline retail and convenience store. The Indianapolis, Indiana service station features a solar-electric canopy. The canopy contains translucent photovoltaic modules made of thin film silicon integrated into glass. | |
2007 | National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Boeing Spectrolab created the High-Efficiency Metamorphic Multijunction Concentrator Solar Cell, or HEMM solar cell which achieved the highest efficiency level of any photovoltaic device to date. The HEMM solar cell broke the 40% conversion efficiency barrier, making it twice as efficient as a typical silicon cell. |
Last Revised: July 2008.
Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Solar History Timeline:1900's, January 2008.
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, "Solar Cells", October 21, 2007.
Big Frog Mountain, Alternative Energy Sources, Intro to History of Solar Electric Power, January 2008.
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