The Timeline of Solar Power

Where did solar power originate? How do we know it's effective? And when will it become widely adopted?

If you're thinking about installing solar panels at home or work, these questions might be swirling around in your head. It's completely normal to have doubts about this technology, especially since the world has relied heavily on coal for so long.

According to a recent survey by Project Solar among UK residents, 34% believe that new constructions will need to incorporate solar power as their primary energy source within the next 50 years. While this hasn't been mandated yet, current government policies suggest it could become a reality—especially if the UK aims to achieve clean energy production by 2035.

This timeline will help you understand more about how solar energy was first transformed into electricity and why you'll be seeing much more of it moving forward.

Over the past two centuries, solar power has made remarkable progress. It's astonishing to witness how rapidly solar technology has evolved. Although it's quickly becoming one of the most common alternative energy sources, not everyone knows how this technology has reached its current state.

 

1839

This year marked the creation of the first solar cell by Alexandre Edmond Becquerel. At just 19 years old, he was conducting experiments in his father's laboratory when he made a groundbreaking discovery. By connecting platinum electrodes to silver chloride in an acidic solution, the young scientist noticed that a current and voltage were generated whenever the materials were exposed to light. After further experiments and tests, this technology didn't produce enough electricity to serve as a practical power source, so for now, solar cells were only useful for measuring light.

 

1883

An American inventor named Charles Fritts invented the first functional solar panels by coating a thin layer of selenium with a very thin layer of gold. Although these early panels were only able to convert 1% of the solar energy hitting them into electricity, they demonstrated that it's possible to extract a significant amount of energy from sunlight and transform it into electricity.

 

1905

But how exactly do solar panels function? Until 1905, solar panels were primarily created through trial and error. This was the year that Einstein revolutionized everything.

At this point in his career, Einstein was merely a patent clerk in Switzerland, not yet the globally renowned physicist we know today. He published a paper building on the work of Max Planck, who explained that particles can absorb or emit radiation in discrete "quanta." Einstein's paper extended Planck's theory to light.

In simple terms, Einstein stated that light (previously thought of as a wave) was actually composed of particles called photons. Each photon has its own unique level of energy depending on how fast it vibrates. He then explained that if you direct this stream of photons at a metal, something interesting happens.

The flow of these electrons is what we call electricity today. In Einstein's 1905 paper, he described how photons from a beam of light, if they possess enough energy, can dislodge electrons from the atoms on the surface of a metal. This release, or flow of electrons, generates a current and voltage. This theory, known as the "photoelectric effect," was the first complete explanation of how solar panels operate.

Einstein would later win a Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect, and as we still depend on it to make solar panels over a century later, it's easy to see why!

 

1915

Robert Millikan designed and conducted an experiment in an attempt to disprove Einstein's photoelectric effect theory. Surprisingly, the experiment ended up proving the existence of the photoelectric effect (you can read more about Millikan's experiment here).

 

1954

This was the year that the first silicon-based solar panels were developed at Bell Labs. The groundwork for this breakthrough began 14 years earlier when Russell Ohl was researching silicon as a semiconductor.

Ohl discovered that one of his samples had a crack in it, and when exposed to light, it allowed current to flow through it. Unbeknownst to him, he had just uncovered the p-n junction, a crucial component of modern solar panels (you can learn more about p-n junctions here).

Over the following years, the scientists at Bell Labs worked on creating solar cells and eventually a solar panel using silicon. Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson were the scientists responsible for developing the first silicon-based solar panel. They unveiled their invention on April 25th, 1954, and used solar power to run a small Ferris wheel toy and a radio transmitter.

 

1994

On July 27th, 1994, electricity generated from solar panels on private property was donated back to the UK grid for the first time. This historic event took place in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, as part of Brenda and Robert Vale's "Autonomous House," where they designed a property to be entirely self-sufficient in energy and water. They outlined this concept in 1975, and nearly 20 years later, they realized their vision.

 

2006

In August 2006, Curry's announced that they would begin stocking solar panels from Sharp at £1,000 each, along with an installation service. Adjusted for inflation, this equals £1,522.57 in 2023. This milestone signaled the beginning of major retailers and businesses taking domestic solar power seriously in the UK.

By the end of the year, the country had reached 12 MW of solar capacity. Considering that the first solar-powered home was introduced just over 10 years prior, this is quite a significant achievement.

 

2010

In April of this year, the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) subsidy was introduced. This tariff allowed homeowners to receive payments for electricity generated by eligible sustainable methods, such as solar panels.

The funds for the FiT came from energy suppliers and were regulated by Ofgem E-Serve. Although the scheme is no longer accepting new applications as of 2019, homeowners who applied before the deadline are still receiving payments.

 

2012

The UK government announced a target to power 4 million homes with solar energy by 2020, which required the national solar capacity to reach 22 GW. In 2020, the UK's solar capacity was 13.477 GW, significantly lower than the ambitious goal of 22 GW. This shortfall may partly be attributed to the impact of COVID-19 on plans for large-scale solar farms.

 

2016

In 2016, the total UK solar capacity surpassed 10,000 MW, marking a major milestone for solar energy as an alternative power source.

From April to September, UK solar panels produced more energy than coal. This milestone was first achieved on April 9th when solar energy surpassed coal for the first time ever in the UK. The significance of this achievement cannot be overstated, as it reflects the sustained investment in renewable energy by the government and solar companies.

 

2020

On January 1st, a replacement for the FiT scheme, which stopped accepting new applicants in 2019, was launched. The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) was introduced by the UK government to encourage homes and businesses to generate solar power and other renewable forms of energy.

The main difference between the FiT and SEG is that the SEG only pays for energy exported back to the grid, whereas the FiT also paid for the energy generated by homeowners or businesses in total.

 

2023

In 2022, Document L was released, introducing a comprehensive set of regulations for the construction of new homes. On June 15th, 2023, the grace period for this legislation ended, meaning that all new homes submitted for planning after this date must produce 31% fewer COâ‚‚ emissions compared to homes built under the previous regulations.

 

2025

Following the implementation of Document L, the UK Future Homes and Buildings Standard will begin enforcement in 2025. This new legislation aims to ensure that new homes produce 75-80% fewer carbon emissions than those built under previous regulations.

For commercial buildings like shops, offices, and other businesses, the legislation will reduce emissions by 27%. This legislation is being enforced to help the country meet its carbon emission reduction targets.

 

2035

By 2035, the UK government has set a target for all electricity generation to come from zero-carbon-emitting sources. This bold commitment to sustainable energy means we will see a rise in solar capacity, wind farms, and other non-carbon-emitting energy sources.

A key factor in achieving this goal is the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. The CfDs are essentially long-term contracts for energy site developers designed to provide developers with guaranteed price certainty throughout the contract duration. In simpler terms, it minimizes unexpected costs for renewable energy farm developers.

The underlying reason for this decarbonization target is that electricity produced from coal is harmful to the environment. This target is a crucial step for the country to reach its ultimate climate goals.

 

2050

Net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is the main UK government target for sustainability in this country. This is expected to be achieved through significant decarbonization across many sectors, not limited to but including energy generation.

It's now clearer than ever that the UK is on a path toward sustainable energy generation for the long term. With numerous government targets and regulations aimed at reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases, it's not a question of 'if' you'll switch to a more renewable lifestyle, but rather 'when.'

So what's next for the UK? Will communities start coming together to own solar farms? According to a survey by Project Solar, 12% of UK residents seem to think this is a strong possibility in the coming 50 years. Interestingly, while there are often concerns about different generations looking out for themselves, nearly 70% of over 55-year-olds believe that all homes will be solar-powered in the near future. If that isn't an endorsement from the generation that relied almost exclusively on coal, we don't know what is.

If you'd like to learn more about transitioning to a more renewable lifestyle with solar panels, visit our homepage.