Solar Panels By_____________

Solar Energys History! Photo Voltaic energy has gained considerable popularity in the past century or so but the very first instance of solar collection took place in 1767 from a scientist by the name of Horace-Benedict de Saussure. His primitive device consisted of an insulated box that made use of three layers of glass which would absorb and redistribute the suns energy. It became known as the first solar oven and while it did not directly harvest the sun and turn it into electricity like our modern perceptions of Photovoltaic, it did repurpose light, albeit through a simple box that could hardly be called a machine. As we look further down the line in history, humans have always tried to optimize our efficiency and in gratuitous amounts. Albert Einstein published a paper on Photo Electric Energy in 1905 but the trend did not catch on until experimental evidence was provided in 1916 by Robert Mililkan. No practical application of this new and revolutionary technology was available to the consumer so there was no massive hype surrounding this ground breaking research. In the late 1950s the first conventional photovoltaic cells were released into the market, these were used to power earth orbiting electronic satellites which would provide imaging and signal retransmission. It was not until the late 1970s when a conjunction of improvements in manufacturing and availability of materials made PV modules affordable and opened up a number of opportunities for the powering of civilian equipment and possibly homes. During the energy crisis that soon followed the government as well as common civilians pushed for efforts to convert the PV system for

residential and commercial use as standalone units. With a new fervor the solar market began to soar into popularity, the new PV cells were being adapted to power, cars, aircraft, homes, and even entire cities in new facilities called solar farms. Today the industry production of PV modules is growing by 10% of its previous production annually, and the major production plans of the United States, Japan, and Europe are rapidly accelerating the implementation of these revolutionary systems in buildings. This is creating an new and more environmentally friendly approach to energy. Intuition behind the conversion of solar energy to power The science behind solar panels is a very complicated one that most commercial or even residential users choose not to delve into. However the concept itself is relatively easy to understand, most of modern PV panels use silicon as the main component of their conductors. The silicon semiconductors are struck by light which causes the electrons to flow between them, creating a flow of electricity. When sunlight hits the semiconductor, an electron springs up and is attracted to the n-type semiconductor. This causes more negative electrons in the n-type semiconductor and more positive electrons in the p-type, thus generating a flow of electricity in a process known as the photovoltaic effect (Kyocera 1). The energy generated by the conductors is DC or direct current which is then converted into alternating current or AC electricity that we commonly use in our homes. This energy is utilized immediately and in most cases helps

to supplement the power that energy companies are providing to the home. This cuts down not only on the residents electric bill but also on the amount of resources used in providing for the world in general. Many consider this new form of solar energy to be the most efficient way to generate renewable power as no natural resources are used besides those required to create the panels themselves, this is a radical improvement as 90% of our power comes from the burning of fossil fuels which is bad for the environment. How are they used? Where are they used? Photovoltaic systems were first seen in massive solar farms on State and Government mandated land during its early stages in the 1960s-70s, not many people could afford to own an expensive PV system and so it remained a government only facet. As Solar panels became more affordable its popularity among consumers who wanted to reduce their carbon footprint and reduce their overall energy bill grew! The power generated by these systems can be utilized immediately, the excess energy that is not used can be stored away in an external source to power a later endeavor or even sold to the utility power company for use elsewhere. The solar panel has become incredibly cheap in the recent decades, it is affordable to most middle class residential home owners! This is good not only for those who want to reduce their bills but also for the environment. Many consumers also choose to have solar panels as an emergency power supply should the grid ever go down, or even as an power supply for house that are off the grid in rural homes and towns that cannot produce their own power.

Has anyone helped? Federal and state governments attempt to proliferate the development of solar voltaic energies in myriads of ways. One of the biggest obstacles with implementing solar voltaic energy is capturing it; approximately one hour of sunlight shone on the earth could be harnessed for a whole years worth of global energy. State Governments try to push for Nano-pillars and concentrators to reduce the cost of capturing the energy. This is seen when Congress extended the Treasury Grant Program to foster thousands of new jobs across the United States whilst in conjunction creating over a billion dollars in investment towards these programs. This not only improves research into solar voltaic energy to optimize the costs and create the greatest opportunity cost for marginal buyers and sellers, but is also used for supply the necessary rudiments, such as the Nano-pillars and even more powerful inverters to optimize AC currents. State Governments have incentives for promoting the use and efficiency of solar voltaic energy not only for cleaner energy but also for job opportunities, which it serves to do in conjunction to the cleaner air. The Federal Government also pushed for the first utilityscaled solar power plant with grants for use on public lands, meaning that land was given precedence to this area of research of other paradigms. Even before the modern push for solar voltaic energy, the government since 1977 has made pushes, as this was the first time a national energy plan had been conjured. Furthermore, the government since 1992 with the Earth Summit has pushed these pushes for renewable energy sources as

the apex model. There are federal programs such as Energy Efficiency Mortgage, which is available to all of those who qualify for a home loan. This allows residences the ability to finance photovoltaic technologies in their house. The federal government also expands the incentives to invest in solar voltaic energy as seen by the Energy Policy Act of 1992, where businesses that choose to invest in these exemplars received ten percent tax credit. Incentives havent been the only push for solar voltaic energy, as seen when the government issued The Executive Order 13,123, which allows the Secretary of Energy to impose a minimal amount of energy that must be derived from some renewable energy source; this pushes for solar voltaic energies use as it is the most abundant source of renewable energy when efficiently harnessed. Overall, it is evident through the myriads of laws imposed that the Federal and State Governments have been actively pushing for renewable energy. Whats Cali doing? California is arguable the largest state fostering the uses of photovoltaic energy; by 2020 33% of all Californias electricity must be renewable. Currently, the Desert Solar Sunlight Farm is a solar power plant being constructed with 8.8 million cadmium telluride thin-film solar photovoltaic contraptions. The construction was divided into two phases, which are in consensus with the power purchase agreement, which is an agreement between the marginal supplier and the marginal buyer (in a competitive market). There will be approximately 1.5 billion dollars invested into the project by Goldman Sachs Lending Partners, which is

partially guaranteed by the Department of Energy. The duration for the project is projected to last until mid 2015, and it started in September of 2011. This shows that a lot of money is being invested into prospective companies that are pushing for the use of solar photovoltaic energy, and that Californias government is in turn pushing for the causes of better economy and environment. The Topaz Solar Farm is also being created in California, with similar technology as the Desert Solar Sunlight Farm and a cost of 2 billion dollars. In San Jose, SoloPower was founded in 2005 for the creation of Copper Indium gallium selenide (CIGS) photovoltaic solar panels. They have received several accolades for there impact on solar photovoltaic energy, and have in turn been named the first to receive UL Certification of CIGS. Plans for the future Solar energy developments for the City of San Jose are quite developed for over the course of the next couple of years. To begin, San Jose has recognized the abundance of sunlight received, and has promised to invest with civic corporations as well as making incentives with residents to proliferate the use of photovoltaic systems in households as well as in corporations. Since they adopted the vision in Green Vision, the city has had a short-term goal of transitioning to clean energy over the course of the next 15 years. The city has also developed a lot of internal stake holders, including the Go Green school programs, Work 2future program, valley energy watch program, and much more. San Jose has also projected long term interests for the thriving of photovoltaic

energy, as seen by their opting for Property Assessed Clean Energy, which is a program for financing all of the costs of fostering solar photovoltaic energy. Lots of outreach programs have been implemented by the city and there have been several pushes of awareness for solar energy development among those in the K-12 public education system. The city also plans on augmenting the products of CIGS from San Jose based companies such as SoloPower. These are few of the plethora of organizations, some of which are even nonprofit, that have gathered around the San Jose area discussing opportunities for pushing the photovoltaic capacity of the city. Citations "Converting Sunlight into Electricity | Solar Power by KYOCERA | SOLAR POWER EXPO | KYOCERA." Converting Sunlight into Electricity | Solar Power by KYOCERA | SOLAR POWER EXPO | KYOCERA. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. <http://global.kyocera.com/solarexpo/solar_power/me chanism.html>. Energy Aware Planning Guide. (n.d.). Energy.ca.gov. Retrieved April 10, 2014, from http://www.energy.ca.gov/2009publications/CEC-6002009-013/CEC-600-2009-013.PDF "History of Photovoltaics." History of Photovoltaics. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. <http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/consumer/solar_electricit y/basics/history_of_pv.htm>. "History of Solar Energy." Exploring Green Technology. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

<http://exploringgreentechnology.com/solarenergy/history-of-solar-energy/>. Solar Photovoltaics: Pros and Cons. (n.d.). Triple Pundit RSS. Retrieved April 16, 2014, from http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/04/solarphotovoltaics-pros-cons/