History of Solar Power

Solar energy has been harnessed for centuries, but the first practical solar cell was invented in 1954 by researchers at Bell Labs in the United States, marking a significant leap in solar technology. While Bell Labs is credited with the invention of the solar cell, Canada also made important contributions.

In the 1970s, Dr. Michael McNiven at Atomic Energy Canada conducted pioneering research on solar cells. His work was instrumental in advancing the efficiency and practical application of solar power. In 1975, McNiven and his team filed a key patent for solar technology, which was later purchased by Texas Instruments in 1978. This patent played a pivotal role in the development of solar-powered calculators, an early application of solar technology.

In the 1980s, Dr. McNiven developed solar-powered city lights to help illuminate remote areas, particularly in Africa. One of the reasons he chose to give this technology to African communities was because he felt that Texas Instruments had profited significantly from purchasing the solar cell patent, and if he had patented the solar-powered streetlight technology, it would likely be bought by a company, leaving communities like those in Africa without access to this vital innovation. By donating the technology, McNiven ensured that it would benefit rural areas without electricity, providing a sustainable and safe lighting solution.

Interestingly, North America still lacks widespread adoption of solar-powered street lights, making Dr. McNiven's contribution to Africa even more notable.

While Nikola Tesla did not directly work on solar energy, he was an advocate for clean, renewable energy sources like the sun, wind, and water. He was against using batteries for energy storage, believing that batteries were non-renewable and relied on direct current (DC), which he felt was less efficient than alternating current (AC). Tesla championed AC as the superior form of energy transmission. However, despite Tesla's opposition to batteries, solar energy today commonly uses batteries to store energy for later use, as they allow for off-grid solutions and help manage the intermittent nature of solar power.