In the history of solar energy development, as early as19th century, it was found that light irradiation caused "lighting electricity" on materials.
1839, the photovoltaic effect was first discovered by French physicist A.E.Becquerel, and the word "photovoltaic" only appeared in English in 1849.
1883 Charles fritter successfully prepared the first solar cell. Charles formed a semiconductor metal junction by covering a selenium semiconductor with an extremely thin gold layer, and the efficiency of the device was only 1%.
In 1930s, the principle of photovoltaic behavior was widely used in camera exposure meters.
1946 Russell Ohl applied for a patent for manufacturing modern solar cells.
In 1950s, with the gradual understanding of the physical properties of semiconductors and the progress of processing technology, the first solar cell was born in Bell Laboratories in 1954. At that time, bell laboratory found that silicon was more sensitive to light after being doped with a certain amount of impurities. The era of solar cell technology has finally arrived.
Since the 1950s, satellites launched by the United States have been using solar cells as energy.
In the energy crisis of 1970s, countries all over the world realized the importance of energy development.
1973 oil crisis, people began to turn the application of solar cells to general people's livelihood.
In the United States, Japan, Israel and other countries, solar devices have been widely used and are moving towards the goal of commercialization.
Among these countries, the United States established the world's largest solar power plant in California in 1983, with a power generation capacity as high as160,000 watts. South African countries such as South Africa, Botswana and Namibia have also set up projects to encourage the installation of low-cost solar cell power generation systems in remote rural areas.
Japan is the most active country in promoting solar power generation. 1994, Japan implemented the subsidy and reward law to promote the "grid-connected parallel solar photovoltaic system" with 3000 watts per household. In the first year, the government subsidized 49% of the funds, and then the subsidies decreased year by year. "Grid-connected parallel solar photovoltaic energy system" means that solar cells provide power for their own loads under the condition of sufficient sunshine, and if there is excess power, it is stored separately. When there is insufficient or no power generation, the required power will be provided by the power company. By 1996, 2600 households in Japan have installed solar power generation systems with a total installed capacity of 8 million watts. A year later, 9,400 were installed, with a total installed capacity of 32 million watts. With the improvement of environmental awareness and government subsidy system, it is estimated that the demand for solar cells in Japan will also increase rapidly.
In China, the solar power generation industry is also strongly encouraged and subsidized by the government. In March 2009, the Ministry of Finance announced plans to subsidize large-scale solar energy projects such as solar photovoltaic buildings.