Solar Power
Solar Power
Solar Power
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Solar power is another ancient energy source that has benefited from developments in modern technology. The oldest forms of solar power used sunlight as a direct source of heat energy. One simple device used to reflect solar energy, the parabolic mirror (a dish with a concave reflective surface), can be traced to 3rd century BC Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes. In 1882 the Frenchman Abel Pifre demonstrated that a parabolic mirror could reflect and focus the sun's rays onto a water boiler, producing sufficient steam power to operate a small printing press. Several modern solar power stations use an array of such reflectors, which move to track the sun, focusing solar energy onto a central boiler.
A relatively new form of solar power, the photovoltaic cell, converts sunlight directly into electricity. The photovoltaic cell is a semiconductor device, closely related to a computer chip, that relies on the photoelectric effect. Discovered by French scientist Antoine Edmund Becquerel in 1839, the photoelectric effect describes how sunlight can create an electric current by generating electrically charged particles.
Developed by scientists at Bell Laboratories in 1954, modern solar cells are generally made of crystalline silicon, a semimetallic element. Photovoltaic cells were first developed in the 1960s as a power source for orbiting spacecraft in the U.S. space program. They are now widely used as a power source for satellites, remote communications systems, traffic signs, and consumer electronic devices such as pocket calculators and watches. Advancing technology has driven production costs down by 80 percent in the past 20 years, and solar electricity is beginning to emerge as a potential competitor to fossil fuels.
In one new application, several companies have integrated solar cells into a new generation of roofing shingles, tiles, and window glass, allowing homes and office buildings to generate their own electricity. In the United States, a home equipped with this technology costs roughly $20,000 more than an average, traditionally powered home. A significant market for this technology is emerging in Japan, due to a system of government supports introduced in 1995. By the end of 1998, Japan is expected to have at least 25,000 solar-powered homes-enough to electrify a city of 100,000 people.
Both the United States and the European Union (EU) announced solar-roof programs in 1997. These programs, which are still being formulated, are partnerships with state and local governments as well as the private sector. They are intended to provide tax incentives, low-cost financing, and other assistance for those who want to use solar power.
The main impediment to increased reliance on solar power is cost. Most experts believe the cost of solar cells must fall by 50 to 75 percent to be fully competitive with coal-fired electricity. Automated manufacturing, larger factories, and more efficient cells may deliver major cost reductions in the near future. But for now, solar cells are used primarily in remote locations, where access to other forms of power is sharply constrained.
One breakthrough that promises to significantly reduce costs is the development of a new generation of thin-film solar cells. These cells are less than one one-hundredth the thickness of conventional solar cells. They do not need to be sliced or rigidly encased, eliminating a costly process, and they can be made into large, flexible sheets ideal for integration into building materials. Thin-film solar cells also use less raw material, further reducing costs.
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