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The period that we associate as modern solar power history is a lot longer than many would think. In fact, it's genesis can be traced some 140 years back to the middle of the Victorian age. Just like the scientists and inventors of today look for alternatives to a dependence on fossil fuels so did the scientists of those times. This article will trace the history from 1860 through to the present day. From 1860 to 1880, the French engineer Auguste Mouchout developed a solar powered engine. The principle of the engine was to convert heat from the sun into steam power. His inspiration was the increased need for coal in the new industrial age and the knowledge that coal resources could not be sustained forever. The French Emperor was so impressed with the device that he gave Mouchout a state subsidy to continue developing the engine. The subsidy eventually lapsed without much headway and cheaper coal resources were negotiated putting an end to the solar powered engine in France. Around this time, William Adams, an Englishman living in India, devised another solution. He built a rack with many small mirrors around a stationary boiler. This allowed him to get 2.5 horsepower out of the engine. In 1885 through to 1889, Charles Tellier worked on creating a solar power system. He came up with an elaborate system of solar collectors that he installed on the rooftop. The purpose of the collectors was to cool water to power a refrigeration system. In 1903, Aubrey Eneas began investigating solar power. He drew his inspiration from the ideas of Mouchout but increased the scale of Mouchout's work. He created a solar power engine that could be sold to the public. In fact he made a sale of one engine to a doctor in Arizona. For around $2000 it was dispatched to Arizona but became damaged soon after and was never operational. Eneas went on to sell one more engine for around the same sum but this was also never operated because it was damaged soon after set up by a hailstorm. At the same time, Henry E. Willsie developed 2 solar plants that collected energy during the day for use at night. The plants used flat plate collectors that produced an output of around 15 horsepower. In 1906, Frank Shuman improved on Willsies system to create an engine that had a capacity of 33 horsepower. With further enhancements he eventually got his engine to around 55 horsepower. The solar industry seemed to go into the doldrums during the war years. Not much of note was developed until 1954. Researchers in the Bell laboratories noticed the reaction of silicon with sunlight. The end result was the invention of photovoltaic cells. A Photovoltaic (PV) cell is the fundamental element that makes up the solar panels that are generally placed on rooftops. Solar panels create direct current from sunlight. With the crises with oil shortages and massive increases in the cost of gasoline, research into alternative energy sources was renewed. In terms of solar power, much research went into making PV cells more efficient and cheaper. PV cells have developed significantly since the early days. They are now increasingly cheaper and more efficient than their predecessors. This improvement will continue as people and governments begin to take solar power seriously. More people are installing solar panels in their homes and this will only increase in the future. More grants and subsidies exist for the creators and users of solar powered technology.
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