History of Wind and Solar Energy Technology - Essay Example

HISTORY OF WIND AND SOLAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY After the first and second world wars, industrialization that began in early 1800s was the only remedy to help the whole world that was facing a sharp downturn in economy; of course industrial revolution could not have happened if agricultural revolution preceded it, due to industrial revolution, major changes were witnessed in the manufacturing, technology, agriculture and agriculture. All these changes helped to bring back to life nations across the globe nations were economically exhausted. Countries could not sustain their economies from meager earnings; there come industrialization where machines replaced human labor as the means of manufacturing, increasing the production capacity of industry tremendously. For these industries to run smoothly a source of energy was needed, like in the middle Ages the main source of energy was wood, which people used earlier to heat their houses and cook food. This was replaced by coal and fuel energy during the industrial revolution which has been used for quite a long period of time. However, the major problem with these traditional sources of energy is that the natural resources of fossils, such as gas and coal have rapidly diminished and as a result; there has been the constant growth of prices for major fuels as well as high dependency of world economies on imported energy sources. It is not only in the present times, but also way back when these sources of energy were put into use; humanity faced serious consequences of thoughtless use of non-renewable natural sources of energy; global warming and ozone layer depletion that is as a result of the vast emissions of greenhouse gases during burning fossil fuels, as well as pollution and soil erosions more of which are irreversible changes to the environment. There has been struggle to look for other alternative energy sources which are eco-friendly, clean and safe for not only humans, but also for environment with its flora and fauna as well. Wind and solar are renewable energies that are affordable, clean, domestic and efficiently unlimited; they produce no emissions and yields cleaner air and water for all. In almost all cultures, from the time of the Egyptians to modern times, the sun has been worshipped and praised. Passive Solar Design is the earliest evidence in the ancient civilizations of Egypt Mesopotamia as well as South America; therefore, solar technology is as old as mankind; its history goes way back from 7th century B.C to today. It is during this time that man started by concentrating the sun’s heat with glass and mirrors to light fires (Nelson, 2005). This has further led to new technological advancement where today man has everything from solar-powered vehicles to buildings. In the 7th century B.C, magnifying glass was used to concentrate sun’s rays to make fire and to burn ants as well as to light torches for religious purpose in the Roman and Greek empires. It is in records that by around 212 BC, Archimedes a Greek scientist used reflective properties of bronze shields to enable him focus sunlight and to set fire to ships made of wood from Roman Empire which were besieging Syracuse. In the beginning of 1st up to around 4th century A.D, more roman bathhouses had large south facing windows so as to be able to let in the sun’s warmth. 6th century A.D was ushered in by a law that ensured that all the ancestors of Pueblo people had sun rights to allow each individual an access to the sun up to around 1200s A.D. In 1767, the first world’s solar collector that was used to cook food was built by a Swiss scientist Horace- Benedict de Saussure. It was an insulated box that was covered with three layers of glass to enable it absorbs heat energy and keeps the food warm. Later it was followed by the heat engines of September 27, 1816 that were built by Robert Stirling from Scotland which were used to concentrate thermal energy derived from the sun to yield power (Nelson, 2005). In 1839, a key milestone in the development of solar energy as an alternative source happened, a French scientist by the name Edmond Becquerel defined the photovoltaic effect, he successfully discovered this by using two electrodes placed in an electrolyte. He realized that when the garget was exposed too much to light, there was an increase in the production of electricity. 1860s saw the first solar powered engines that were used in variety of applications; they are the replica of the modern parabolic dish collectors. This was closely followed by the discovery of ultraviolet light altered the lowest voltage cable of initiating a spark to jump the between two metal electrodes. A great discovery was made again in 1873; Willoughby Smith discovered photoconductivity of a material known as selenium. Though the cells made out of selenium were not efficient, he never lost hope and continued with research; in 1876 he discovered that the solid was able to convert light into electricity without heat or moving parts. These become a major foundation that was utilized in the future development in the long history of solar power. Samuel P. Langley successfully invented a bolometer in 1880 a garget that was used to gauge light from the faintest stars and the sun’s heat rays. This garget had fine wires that were connected to an electrical circuit, and whenever radiation from the sun fell on the wires, they become slightly warmer and as a result could reduce the electrical resistance of the wires. In the period between 1883 and 1891, more inventions were made that greatly contributed to the evolution of solar energy use. Solar cells were introduced in 1883; the cell was to be wrapped with selenium wafers. Heinrich Hertz also discovered an ultraviolet ray capacity that could cause a spark jump between two electrodes in 1887. Afterward, in 1891 the first solar heater was created. In the year 1904 a combination of copper and cuprous oxide was discovered to be photosensitive. More research on the copper metal continued and in 1908, William J. Baileys invented a copper collector that was made using copper coils and boxes. The collector was an improvement of the previous made collector but the only difference is that it was insulated using copper that is a good heat conductor, an idea that has been put into use till to date. In 1910, so as to be able to improve the collector’s insulation properties, the absorption plates were not enclosed with a single sheet of glass, but with dual panes separated by an inch air space. The boiler pipes were also replaced with thin flat metal containers; this enabled the apparatus boil water to a certain extent than ether. In 1914, the existence of a barrier coating in photovoltaic devices was noticed. Back in 1905, Albert Einstein published a paper on photoelectric effect but still there was no evidence, not until 1916 when a scientist known as Robert Millikan conducted an experiment to confirm this. A polish scientist by the name Jan Czochralski conducted a research and produced a method to grow single crystals of metal, a method that was later adapted to produce single-crystal silicon. In 1947 after the Second World War that resulted into short supply energy, passive solar buildings in the United States were in such a demand and solar power equipment begun being popular among many people in the USA; publications were done which profiled forty-nine of the nations’ greatest solar architects (Tisdell, 1981). This eventually yielded the first solar cell cable of converting enough of the sun’s energy into power to run electrical gargets in 1954. Solar power could now be used to power space exploration equipment such as satellites and space stations. In an economical perspective, it is during this time that the first commercial use of solar energy started. In the year 1955, commercial solar cell technologies were licensed by Western Electric and solar cells with high efficiency and more resistant to radiation damage and are better suited for space was produced. Up to the time around 1959, the effectiveness of the solar cells was only 14% and was not proportionate to the high cost of producing cells. A quick solution was needed, in 1970s, efficient solar panel which was less costly to manufacture was designed by Exxon Corporation. This therefore boosted the production of solar cells, and a result it is in the same period of 1970s when solar cell began to power navigation warning lights and horns on many offshore, railroad crossings as well as domestic use at affordable rates. With more demand for the energy, in 1977 the US government further embraced the use of solar energy Research institute and it becomes a trend that was followed by nations across the globe. After a series of developments, in 1981, the first solar-powered aircraft that had 16,000 solar cells in its wings was built by Paul Macready, the aircraft flew from France to England. In Australia the first solar powered cars were also developed in 1982. It closely followed by the world’s most advanced solar-powered airplane whose wings and tail surfaces were covered by 3,000 super-efficient solar cells in 1996. The world’s largest solar thermal facility that was located in Kramer Junction in California was commissioned in 1986. This solar field contained rows of mirrors that concentrated the sun’s energy onto a system of pipes circulating a heat transfer fluid. It is this heat transfer fluid that was used to produce steam, which then powered a conventional turbine to generate electricity. In 1988, Dr. Alvin Marks also developed two solar power technologies, which are the Lepcon and Lumenoid; the Lepcon was made of glass panels that were covered with a huge array of millions of aluminum and copper strips, each one less than a thousandth of a millimeter in width. Whenever the sunlight strike the metal strips, the energy is transferred to electrons in the metal, which escapes at one end in the form of electricity. While on the other hand, Lumenoid uses a similar approach, though, it substitutes cheaper, film-like sheets of plastic for the glass panels and coats the plastic with conductive polymers, long chains of molecular plastic units. In 1996, there was an upgrade done by the U.S. Department of Energy together with an industry association on its Solar One concentrating solar power project to a Solar Two. This continued to work until 1999; it confirmed how solar energy can be stored well and economically so that power can be produced more even when the sun is not shining. In the year 1998, a scientist Subhendu Guha contributed through his pioneered work on amorphous silicon that led to the discovery of elastic solar shingles, a roofing material and technology for converting sunlight to electricity. A year later, in 1999 the tallest skyscraper building was accomplished on 4 Times Square. It was built-in more energy-efficient building techniques than any other commercial skyscraper. Moreover, it also includes building-integrated photovoltaic panels on the 37th through 43rd floors on the south and west facing facades that produce part of the buildings power. In 1999, Renewable energy laboratory developed a photovoltaic solar cell that converts 32.3% of the sun light that heats it into electric power. The high energy conversion efficiency was attained by combining photovoltaic materials of three layers into a single solar cell. More recently in 2001, the national space development agency of Japan announces plans of developing a satellite-based solar power technology that would beam solar energy to earth (Nelson, 2005). More advancement were witnessed in the year 2002 when Automation Tooling Systems Inc. based in Canada began to commercialize an innovative method in the production of solar cells, that is known as Spheral Solar Technology. It was a technology that was based on the tiny silicon beads bonded between two sheets of aluminum foil; it was cheap due to its very much reduced utilization of silicon relative to conservative multicrystalline silicon solar cells. In addition, there is a plan that will see all the buildings built to incorporate energy-efficiency design, construction practices, and renewable energy system for net-zero energy building. In effect, the building will conserve enough and produce its own energy supply to create cost-effective generator buildings that contain zero net annual non-renewable energy needs. The continued use of solar system has tremendously improved the economy of many nations in the recent years; they are able to more efficiently run their industries without emissions unlike other alternative sources of energy. Solar energy is readily available to all nations and it only requires little and cheap labor force to ensure the natural sunlight is harnessed and used more effectively, in a more eco-friendly manner. It is worth noting that since early recorded history, the ancient people harnessed wind energy and used it. The energy was used to propel boats along river Nile as early as 5,000B.C. The monsoon winds were also used to propel ships from India to the east coast of Africa where trade was carried with the locals, and again it was used to propel them back before the steam ships were invented. By around 200 B.C, simple windmills in china were used to pump water, on the other hand, vertical-axis windmills of woven sails used to grind grain in the Middle East and Persia. Due to the various interactions a cross the world, harnessing and the use of wind energy spread all over. In 1800s, wind power in North America helped farmers and ranchers to pump water for irrigation as well as generation of electricity for homes and individual businesses (Emiliani, et al.2009). Around 1890s, wind turbines were built on hills in Denmark; they had steel blades that made them more efficient as more power was produced than required. As a result, in 1950s, most wind turbines in the United States were shut down because of abandonment. This continued up to the 1970s until the fuel price skyrocketed, scholar again began to have curiosity in wind turbines and the power they produce. In 1978, the congress passed the public Utility Regulatory Policies Act that obligated companies to purchase certain amount of electric power from renewable sources of energy such as wind (Tisdell, 1981). It resulted to the introduction of The Viterna Method that was used to predict wind turbine performance in 1981, hence increasing efficiency of turbine output to date. 2.5 million Homes that make up 5% of the population in the United States consume wind energy as per the statistics of the year 2007. The U.S Department of Energy had a target of 20% Wind Energy by 2030 proposal as was published in 2008 in their journals. In 2012, the amount of wind energy that was produced in the United States served 15 million homes and was the number one source of renewable source of energy. In a nutshell, both the two sources of energy are in the forefront to the economic developments of the whole world and not hazardous if harnessed and utilized effectively. They are cost effective compared to the other natural sources of energy such as the fossil fuels, relatively little maintained is required in the machines; they are inexhaustible and readily available to all. It is therefore advisable that every nation makes it a trend to economically boost their living standards through the use of these two alternative energy sources. References AAATE (Conference), Emiliani, P. L., & Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe. (2009). Assistive technology from adapted equipment to inclusive environments: AAATE 2009. Amstersdam: IOS Press. Nelson, R. R. (2005). Technology, institutions, and economic growth. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. Tisdell, C. A. (1981). Science and technology policy: Priorities of governments. London: Chapman and Hall. Read More