Solar energy has come a long way since the first commercial silicon solar cell was purchased by the US in 1953.
In the 1970s, the oil crisis prompted a push for alternative energy, and the US allotted over $8 billion to solar research and development. However, the project was cancelled by President Reagan before it could make a significant impact.
Japan and Germany then stepped in and created a global market for solar technology. Germany's feed-in tariff program, which promised to pay power companies double the market price for renewable energy, made it a no-brainer for developers to build solar projects. As more panels were produced, the cost of generating electricity with solar continued to decrease, making it an unqualified success story.
Vocabulary:
• Efficient
Working in a way that does not waste a resource.
• Fast forward
Make it play at very high speed so that you get to the end or a later part more quickly.
• Coal
A hard, black substance that is dug from the earth in pieces, and can be burned to produce heat or power.
• Livable
Acceptable or good enough.
• Breakthrough
An important discovery or event that helps to improve a situation.
• Harness
To control something, usually in order to use its power.
• Dwindling
Gradually becoming smaller in size or amount, or fewer in number.
• Know how
Practical knowledge and ability.
• Subsidy
Money given as part of the cost of something, to help or encourage it to happen.