IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - May/June 2022 - 77

Sayan Kumar Nag and Tarun Kumar Gangopadhyay
solar photovoltaics
a brief history of technologies
I
IN THE PRESENT CENTURY, SOLAR
energy has emerged as an important
source of nonconventional energy to
meet the energy demand for overall development
of a nation. The use of solar
energy for human development is not a
new discovery but instead is a centuryold
tradition. As the demand for clean
energy sources increases, the importance
of the development of efficient
photovoltaic (PV) cells is in demand.
Here we examine the utilization of solar
energy in the initial stage, the rise
of PV development in the present era,
and different kinds of PV cells with
their merits and demerits.
Solar Energy-
The Initial Years
It is a common belief among many
people that the use of solar energy is a
phenomenon of modern times either as
a repercussion of the 1970s oil embargo,
a byproduct of the 20th-century space
race, or both. Nevertheless, it isn't all the
truth. When considering energy sources
in the modern world, the first thing that
generally comes to mind is traditional
energy sources such as coal, oil, and gas.
But biomass from wood, dried animal
manure, and peat has traditionally been
used as fuel for ancient cultures. Obviously,
like other forms of renewable
energy, both traditional and modern biofuels
originally generated from the Sun.
The biofuels act like early storage units
of solar energy and are only useful during
daylight hours. Ancient civilizations,
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2022.3150814
Date of current version: 19 April 2022
may/june 2022
figure 1. An illustration depicting the Sun's rays being focused to start a fire in 1658.
(Source: J.A. Comenius, Orbis Sensualium Pictus, Michael Endter, 1658.)
ieee power & energy magazine
77
In this issue's " History " column, we examine the utilization of solar energy from
a variety of historic perspectives and the evolution of different types of photovoltaic
(PV) cells. We welcome Sayan Kumar Nag and Tarun Kumar Gangopadhyay
of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Techno Main Salt Lake Kolkata,
West Bengal, India, who join us for their first time to our " History " pages.
John Paserba
Associate Editor, " History "
such as Native Americans, Babylonians,
Persians, ancient Hindus, and Egyptians,
held the Sun in high regard to the
point of worshipping it. However, it was
actually the Greeks and Romans who
first realized the Sun's power as a source
of free energy. The first known way to
capture the Sun's rays occurred around
600 BCE, when wood was ignited by
focusing the rays onto it through magnifying
lenses. An illustration of this is
shown in Figure 1.
history

IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - May/June 2022

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