1. The first useful solar panel was invented just 63 years ago by Bell Laboratories and had an efficiency of 6%. Today, solar panels can have efficiencies of 25% and research is continuing to improve this. 

2. The cost ($) per kW is now 27% cheaper than it was three years ago. In 2014 the cost per kW was $3831.67 and now in 2017 it’s $2776.23

3. Solar energy travels for 149,660,900 km from the sun to the earth in 8 minutes. By comparison, a commercial jet flying at 885km/h would take 19 years to reach the sun. And NASA’s robotic spacecraft Juno which reached speeds of 265,000 km/h in 2016 would take just under 24 days.

4. Hugely abundant: More solar energy strikes the surface of the earth in one hour than is provided by all the fossil energy consumed globally in a year.  

5. Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) conceptualised the use of solar power. What a genius! 

6. Spacecraft and space stations have used solar cells since the 1960s. The first solar satellite went up to space in 1958 and is the size of a grapefruit. It’s still up there today.

7. As of February 2017, the Longyangxia Dam Solar Park in China is the largest solar farm in the world. It covers an area of 27 square kilometres and is made up of 4 million panels, providing 850 megawatts of energy (enough to power 200,000 homes).

8. In July 2016 the first around the world solar flight took place. With a wing span wider than a Boeing 747, and more than 17,000 solar cells on board, Solar Impulse 2 spent a total of 23 days in flight over 16 months with an average speed of 75 km/h. 

9. There are two types of technology used to turn solar energy into electricity: Solar photovoltaic (PV) cells capture the sun’s rays and converts this directly into electricity. PV is commonly used residentially. Concentrate Solar Power (CSP) uses mirrors and lens to concentrate the suns heat into thermal energy, then into electricity. 

10. Solar power is going to be around for a long time - according to astrophysics, the sun has another 4-5 billion years before its fuel is exhausted. 

 

Vector, in partnership with Auckland Council and in collaboration with the NZ transport agency, is excited to be lighting the Harbour Bridge with smart energy technology.  This article is one in a series about the Vector Lights project. See more here.​


REFERENCES:

1. APS Physics News https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200904/physicshistory.cfm April 2009
2. World's most efficient, environment-friendly solar cells, Science Daily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170321123825.htm March 2017
3. The Price of a Solar Power System, https://www.mysolarquotes.co.nz/about-solar-power/residential/how-much-does-a-solar-power-system-cost/ Pricing Data from Vector Solar
4. https://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2007/locations/ttt_sunlight.php  
5. What’s the Fastest Spacecraft Ever, Live Science
6. http://www.livescience.com/32655-whats-the-fastest-spacecraft-ever.html July 2016
7. The Solar Opportunity ERC whitepaper, http://web.mit.edu/course/10/10a19/MIT%20white%20paper%20on%20solar.pdf
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_inventions_of_Leonardo_da_Vinci  
9. Vanguard 1 celebrates 50 years in space, Source: Naval Research Laboratory 
10. https://phys.org/news/2008-03-vanguard-celebrates-years-space.html March 2008
11. The world’s largest solar farm, from space https://www.engadget.com/2017/03/08/the-worlds-largest-solar-farm-from-space/, March 2017
12. National Geographic, Historic Solar Flight Shows Promise and Challenge of Clean Energy, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/07/solar-impulse-completes-trip-around-world-abu-dhabi-solar-power-airplane/ July 2016
13. The Two Types of Solar technology to used to create electricity, Photovoltaic and Thermal,  http://www.seia.org/policy/solar-technology 
14. Huffington Post, 14 Things You Didn’t Know About How the Sun Will Die, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-j-eicher/14-things-you-didnt-know-_b_5692426.html, Aug 2014