The ancient Greek and Native Americans were the first to use solar power to their benefit, dating back as early as 400BC. It wasn’t until 1776 that the first solar collector was built by a gentleman named Horace de Saussare.
It was during the later half of the 1950’s that solar power saw its first mainstream usage. The first solar water heated office building was built during this time by an architect named Frank Bridgers.
Later there was a process that produced pure crystalline silicone and by 1954 Bell Telephone Laboratories had developed a silicon photovoltaic cell that had a four percent efficiency that was later boosted to an 11% efficiency.
Solar power saw a rebirth in the 1970’s with the oil embargo. This was a great opportunity to utilize solar power; in fact the US Department of Energy financed the Federal Photovoltaic Utilization Program. This program was responsible for the installation and testing of over 3,000 photovoltaic systems.
Germany is one of the world's top photovoltaics (PV) installers, with a solar PV capacity as of 2010 of almost 17,000 megawatts (MW). The German solar PV industry installed 7,400 MW from nearly one-quarter million individual systems in 2010, and solar PV provided 12 TWh (billion kilowatt-hours) of electricity in 2010, about 2% of total electricity.
Some market analysts expect this could reach 25 percent by 2050
Germany has also taken the bold step to begin eliminating their dependence on Nuclear Powered energy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced the country will move to phase out all nuclear power by 2022.
Solar power in the United States is an area of considerable activity and there are many utility-scale solar power plants. The largest solar power installation in the world is the Solar Energy Generating Systems facility in California, which has a total capacity of 354 megawatts (MW). Nevada Solar One is a solar thermal plant with a 64 MW generating capacity, located near Boulder City, Nevada. The Copper Mountain Solar Facility is a 48 MW photovoltaic solar power facility in Boulder City, Nevada. The DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center is a 25 MW photovoltaic solar power facility in DeSoto County, Florida.
The Blythe Solar Power Project is a 500 MW photovoltaic power station under construction in Riverside County, California. The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is a 392 MW solar thermal power facility which is under construction in south-eastern California. The Solana Generating Station is a 280 MW solar power plant which is under construction about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Phoenix, Arizona. There are plans to build many other large solar plants in the United States. Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring California's utilities to get 33 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by the end of 2020.
In October 2009, the Ontario government launched the feed-in tariff (FIT) and microFIT programs. This program is the first of its kind in North America to encourage the development of clean renewable energy. The FIT program is intended for installations over 10 kW, while the microFIT program is to encourage the development of micro-scale renewable energy projects, such as residential solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. The microFIT program provides a rate of $0.802/kWh for rooftop mounted solar panels. On July 2nd, 2010 the microFIT's program rate was lowered to $0.588/kWh by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA). This new rate means consumers investing in solar energy through the Ontario MicroFit Program will experience a drop in profit margin from a 25% range to 10%.
Thanks to the Ontario FIT program, Canada is the home of the largest solar farm in the world (as of October 2010). Located in Sarnia, Ontario, the 80 megawatt Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant can power more than 12,000 homes.
Ontario may become the leading market for solar PV in North America in 2011, installing more than 400 MW of solar power. This would be nearly double that installed by California in 2010. With contracts on the books, Ontario is expected to reach 2,650 MW of solar PV by 2015.
“We possess the intelligence, courage, determination, and technology available to sustain many changes to our physical world for our children and generations to follow”
What are you doing to show our children the way? Stand Up for SOLAR!
Brian Cook
Senior Solar Expert
Dial One Wolfedale Electric
905-564-8999 ext 223
Giving You the Power!... to Change
It was during the later half of the 1950’s that solar power saw its first mainstream usage. The first solar water heated office building was built during this time by an architect named Frank Bridgers.
Later there was a process that produced pure crystalline silicone and by 1954 Bell Telephone Laboratories had developed a silicon photovoltaic cell that had a four percent efficiency that was later boosted to an 11% efficiency.
Solar power saw a rebirth in the 1970’s with the oil embargo. This was a great opportunity to utilize solar power; in fact the US Department of Energy financed the Federal Photovoltaic Utilization Program. This program was responsible for the installation and testing of over 3,000 photovoltaic systems.
Germany is one of the world's top photovoltaics (PV) installers, with a solar PV capacity as of 2010 of almost 17,000 megawatts (MW). The German solar PV industry installed 7,400 MW from nearly one-quarter million individual systems in 2010, and solar PV provided 12 TWh (billion kilowatt-hours) of electricity in 2010, about 2% of total electricity.
Some market analysts expect this could reach 25 percent by 2050
Germany has also taken the bold step to begin eliminating their dependence on Nuclear Powered energy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced the country will move to phase out all nuclear power by 2022.
Solar power in the United States is an area of considerable activity and there are many utility-scale solar power plants. The largest solar power installation in the world is the Solar Energy Generating Systems facility in California, which has a total capacity of 354 megawatts (MW). Nevada Solar One is a solar thermal plant with a 64 MW generating capacity, located near Boulder City, Nevada. The Copper Mountain Solar Facility is a 48 MW photovoltaic solar power facility in Boulder City, Nevada. The DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center is a 25 MW photovoltaic solar power facility in DeSoto County, Florida.
The Blythe Solar Power Project is a 500 MW photovoltaic power station under construction in Riverside County, California. The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is a 392 MW solar thermal power facility which is under construction in south-eastern California. The Solana Generating Station is a 280 MW solar power plant which is under construction about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Phoenix, Arizona. There are plans to build many other large solar plants in the United States. Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring California's utilities to get 33 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by the end of 2020.
In October 2009, the Ontario government launched the feed-in tariff (FIT) and microFIT programs. This program is the first of its kind in North America to encourage the development of clean renewable energy. The FIT program is intended for installations over 10 kW, while the microFIT program is to encourage the development of micro-scale renewable energy projects, such as residential solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. The microFIT program provides a rate of $0.802/kWh for rooftop mounted solar panels. On July 2nd, 2010 the microFIT's program rate was lowered to $0.588/kWh by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA). This new rate means consumers investing in solar energy through the Ontario MicroFit Program will experience a drop in profit margin from a 25% range to 10%.
Thanks to the Ontario FIT program, Canada is the home of the largest solar farm in the world (as of October 2010). Located in Sarnia, Ontario, the 80 megawatt Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant can power more than 12,000 homes.
Ontario may become the leading market for solar PV in North America in 2011, installing more than 400 MW of solar power. This would be nearly double that installed by California in 2010. With contracts on the books, Ontario is expected to reach 2,650 MW of solar PV by 2015.
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| 500KW Rooftop Solar Array in Woodstock Ontario |
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| 80 MW Solar farm in Sarnia Ontario |
“We possess the intelligence, courage, determination, and technology available to sustain many changes to our physical world for our children and generations to follow”
What are you doing to show our children the way? Stand Up for SOLAR!
Brian Cook
Senior Solar Expert
Dial One Wolfedale Electric
905-564-8999 ext 223
Giving You the Power!... to Change
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