The Development of Solar Power

History of the Solar Energy Development

Humans firstly discovered to use magnify glasses to concentrate and direct the sun’s ray to aimed objects. According to the record， as early as the 600s BC humans had already used magnify glasses to burn ants and start fire. Later in the 400s BC， Native Americans and Ancient Greeks already built their houses in the place where can absorb maximum sunlight in the day time， in order to use the heat in the night time.

In the 200s BC， the sunlight was used in the religious ceremony and wars. The Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans lighted torches for their temples by using mirrors to refract the sun’s ray. It was a rumor that Archimedes， a great ancient Greek physicist and inventor， during the Siege of Syracuse taken place in 214 to 212 BC， used a bronze shield to concentrate the power of the sun’s rays and reflected on wooden Roman ships， causing them to catch on fire.

Later around the 2nd century AD， Romans designed special windows to re-direct sun’s ray to bath houses， buildings and public facilities for heat. Throughout the ancient history， many examples can be found that people used sun’s ray for the thermal purpose.

In modern time， people put a lot of efforts to improve the technology in collecting solar energy. In 1767， a Swiss inventor Horace-Benedict de Saussure created the world’s first solar collector -- an insulated box with three layers of glass to absorb heat energy. The box can reach 230 degrees Fahrenheit and is hot enough to heat food on his Alpine expeditions.

By 1816， a hot air engine， also named as the Stirling Engine， was invented by the Reverend Dr. Robert Stirling. The engine is basically a closed cylinder， which contained a piston and helium， nitrogen or hydrogen gas. When the cylinder is heated up at one end by the concentrated sunlight and cooled down at the other by air or water， it drives the movement of the piston. As a result， a generator can be driven and creates electricity. This equipment would later be used to convert the sun’s energy into electrical power.

In 1839， a major milestone of the development of solar energy was reached， as Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect， the operating principle of the solar cell. And 40 years later， Willoughby Smith discovered selenium， a photoconductivity material， and also discovered that this material could convert light into electricity without heat or moving parts.

During the late 19th century and the first decade of 20th century， there were several inventions like the invention of first solar cell in 1893; the discovery of the ultraviolet ray capacity in 1887; the creation of first solar heater in 1891; the invention of a copper collector in 1908 and a paper on photoelectric effect in 1905 contributed to the evolution of solar energy use.

Following the Second World War， solar energy began to be a mainstream in the scientific world and gained more popularity among people in the US. And In 1958， solar energy was used for commercial purposes like building satellites and space stations for the first time.

In the next two decades， the major discussions on solar power were focused on the cost reduction and the efficiency of solar cells. And in the 1970’s， Exxon Corporation came up a new design of solar panel which was less costly to manufacture.

By 1977， the United States government launched the Solar Energy Research Institute dedicated to research the use of solar energy， soon followed by other governments across the world.

The 1980’s was a major time in the history of solar power’s development. Over the decade， scientists developed different solar powered products like the first solar powered aircraft in 1981 and the first solar powered cars in1982.

With the increasing investments in the solar energy development， there were more breakthroughs in the following three decades. More efficient solar dishes and solar cells were invented. In 1999， the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed a photovoltaic solar cell which could convert 32.3 percent of the sunlight that collected by the cell into electricity and invented a new thin-film photovoltaic solar cell which broke the old efficiency record for by topping 1% efficiency for the prototype solar cell to 18.8 percent.

At the same year， traditional glasses from the 35th to the 48th floor on the south and east walls of the 4 Times Squares， an iconic building in the New York City， was replaced by thin-film PV panels for the energy efficiency.

By 2000s， people began to apply solar energy in their houses， buildings and daily activities. Rooftop’s solar energy systems also became more available and could be purchased in the hardware store.

In the past few years， enormous amount of investments in the large scale solar plants have been seen around the world. As of April 2013， the largest individual photovoltaic power plants in the world are Agua Caliente Solar Project in Arizona， now with a capability of 250 megawatts. And the project will be totally completed in 2014 and it can reach an installed capability of 397 MW.

Problems in applying solar energy

Theoretically， the solar energy is bound to have a great prospect particularly in the time of climate change and energy crises， as it is free， virtually limitless and a clean energy. Yet， technological barriers in distribution， collection and storage of solar energy have limited its application.

Money is always the first problem in developing and applying the "new" technology. Although the sunlight is a free source of energy， harnessing it requires expensive equipments like solar panels. The panel is mainly made of semiconductor materials. To produce the semiconductor materials， a high level of cleanness in production sites are required， which are expensive to build and maintain. Maintenance costs of solar panels are expensive as well， as each inch of a solar panel must be spotless and clear of debris. A small portion of solar panel is blocked by a leaf or a thin film of dust can significantly reduce the efficiency of power production.

Furthermore， there are not many suitable sites for producing solar energy and making solar energy cost effective. Solar panels require direct sun to utilize its capability of power production. Therefore， cloudy areas with frequent rain are not well suited for solar panels. And solar farms require a lot of space for installation. In order to reduce the cost of production， the space for solar farms has to be inexpensive. And those areas are normally far from cities， where the power is most needed， so transmission lines are needed to bring power to cities.

In comparison with the electricity from coal-fired power plants and nuclear power plants， solar energy is more expensive to use， in term of dollars per kilowatt-hour if the environmental costs are not considered.

Many researches have been proved that a tremendous amount of energy is required to produce a solar panel. The panel itself may have required producing 11 years worth of its energy production to make it even with the energy used in the process of production. Of course， it can vary depending on the type of panel and the way of production. But， in general， the panel won’t produce "new energy" or make "energy profit" until it has been operating for 11 years. Therefore， the environmental friendliness of solar panels has also been questioned.

Another drawback of solar energy systems is no place on earth can receive 24 hours of daylight all around the year. At night or cloudy day， the energy received by the system can be reduced to zero. Therefore， energy from solar panels cannot be count on at all time. As a result， the solar energy cannot be the mainstream energy supply source and be what the power industry calls the baseload power， the minimum amount of power that a utility or distribution company must make available to its customers. The use of solar energy will remain limited unless more efficient energy storage facilities are invented to conserve energy and to provide a stable and constant source of electricity when the sun is covered by the cloud or isn’t shining at night.

Solar PV Industry in China

Although the expensive cost and inconstant availability of solar energy have prevented it becoming a more widely used energy source， it is still a great additional energy source with a great potential as the baseload power in the future. And China’s demand for energy is increasing rapidly as a result of the rapid economic growth in China. The government also realized the importance and emergency of developing renewable energy， and increased its commitment to the industry development. More importantly， solar is considered as one of the world fastest growing industries. It is almost worth of US 300 billion. All these favorable factors created the booming bubble of the solar industry in China.

In the last few years， the solar industry has eliminated many weaker firms out of the frame. Stronger firms remained in the industry are still facing a lot of problems.

Overcapacity is the most obvious issue faced by the solar PV industry in China， as the manufacturing capacity of solar panels outstrips the global demand， with the 60 gigawatts of the global manufacturing capability which mostly produced in in China compared with 35 gigawatts of the solar energy demand in 2013， causing the price plunge of the solar panels.

Even worse， many solar panels are made for exportation in China， as the domestic demand of solar panel remains at a low level. When the demand in Europe， a major market for Chinese Solar panels， slows down， many Chinese solar panel manufacturers need to slash the price in order to liquidate inventory. An unfriendly environment has caused smaller solar panel manufacturers out of the market or being brought by larger companies. If the situation doesn’t change， it will jeopardize the industry development in long term.

The glut of solar panels is good news for consumers as it drops the price of solar panels. But the decline in prices has been hard for solar manufacturers. As price drops， the factories would find it hard to invest in the new equipments or put more investments in innovation， as the small marginal profit is not allowed them to do it. But if solar power is going to become a truly widespread technology， newer， more efficient technologies or even alternatives to conventional silicon panels may be needed. Innovation becomes the bottleneck of the industry of solar energy.

Another obstacle for the solar energy is the shortage of transmission line. In an interview， Li Junfeng ， Deputy Director of the Chinese central government’s Energy Research Institute， warned that a lack of transmission lines was an obstacle of the utility-scale solar farms， leaving many Chinese solar farms unconnected to the grid， unable to sell their electricity and unable to recover their capital costs.. China’s outdated electrical grid has also plagued the development of solar power.

Although China’s solar companies are having a difficult time in the global solar energy marker， many of them may not survive. Yet， this situation gives the solar market a chance to recover by cutting down the oversupply. Those companies left standing are able to acquire new technologies and seek expansion in the domestic market and new markets like Africa and Latin America.

Making Solar Energy Profitable for Users and Investors

Although there are constant reminders of the danger of consuming fossil fuel on media， solar energy use hasn’t yet pose a major challenge to the conventional fossil fuel. The most reason for people not to go for solar energy is the cost， which is much higher than using other energy sources. Reducing the cost of using or even making profits can be a great motivation to the end users to switch from fossil fuels to solar energy. For manufacturers， in recent years the sharp drop in orders of solar panel in the global market also deters the further investment on new technologies. To reverse the trend， new markets for exporting solar panels are needed.

Feed-in-Tariff

A feed in tariff （FIT） is a policy mechanism designed to accelerate using of renewable energy. Under the FIT， eligible electricity generators like homeowners， business owners， farmers and organizations such as schools and community groups are paid for the renewable electricity they produce， even if they use the electricity themselves. For any surplus electricity， they can export to the grid. And of course they also save money on their electricity bill， because they’ll be using their own electricity.

As of 2013， the FIT has been enacted in over 50 countries including Algeria， Australia， Austria， Belgium， Brazil， Canada， China， South Africa， Kenya， South Korea， Thailand and UK.

Under the UK scheme， the FIT is available for those generating green electricity （a generation tariff） and giving the unused generated electricity back to the National Grid （an export tariff）. As of May 2012， anyone fitting an average-sized 2.5kWh solar photovoltaic （PV） system to their existing home will be paid 21 pounds per kilowatt hour （kWh） generated. Households also receive an extra 3.2 pounds for every kWh that they export back to the grid， on top of the money given in the first place for generation. The income is tax-free. A typical homeowner could receive around ?500 per year.

Kenya is another country adopted the FIT scheme in 2008. Solar power was not included within the tariff regime until 2010. Under the scheme， energy companies or "utilities" responsible for operating the national grid are mandatory to buy electricity from renewable energy sources at a pre-determined price. The price is attractive enough to stimulate new investments in the solar industry and ensures the market and an attractive return for those investing in the production of solar energy.

Exporting solar panels to Africa

With the decline of demand in PV panels in Europe， solar panel manufacturers need to look for a new market. And African nations are their best alternative markets. As the price of PV devices falls， building solar into grids becomes affordable to African nations. More importantly， a cheap and affordable energy is urgently needed in the Africa continent， as some 587 million people across the continent are without the access of to electricity. Therefore， it is a huge potential market for the solar panel manufacturers.

Furthermore， Africa is a good location to install solar panels. On average， many countries in Africa have 325 days of bright sunlight per year， which gives a great potential development of solar power in Africa. It can virtually bring solar energy to any location in Africa， even without large scale grid infrastructures.

Although the current solar power technology can be used to generate power on a large scale and has been succeeded in nations like the US， India， China and Germany， providing power on a smaller scale is more suitable for Africa. In order to generate electricity on a large scale， large scale grids and transmission lines are needed， which are currently lacking in the rural areas in Africa.

Generating electricity on a small scale is a more realistic way to satisfy the need of those without access to electricity. Combination with the financial support from the governments or microcredit loan programs， many of those poor communities can afford solar panels， using the solar energy to help with day to day needs such as small-scale electrification， desalination， water pumping， and water purification.

Exporting solar panels to Africa is a win-win for both manufacturers and poor communities in Africa.

Greenhouse farming

Solar panels can be widely applied to the agricultural industry. In tradition， farming is at the mercy of the seasons， weather， availability of water， plant disease and persistence of pests， but a greenhouse with solar panels allows a complete control of these variables.

With the help from the solar greenhouse， the growing season can be extended as solar greenhouses can store the collected solar energy as heat for the cold season. The energy can also be used during the nights and cloudy days.

The extra energy can be used in the house or sold to the local grids to reduce the energy bills and generate extra incomes.