New Orleans Solar Panels
While solar panels in New Orleans are a relatively new idea because of our recent state and federal tax credits, solar technology and the photovoltaic (PV) effect have actually been around for a long time. Below is a brief history of solar, and how we got to where we are today!
1839 – Alexander Edmond Becquerel observes the photoelectric effect.
1873 – Willoughby Smith finds that selenium is photoconductive.
1883 – Charles Fritts develops first solar cell using selenium achieving a 1% efficiency.
1904 – Albert Einstein publishes a paper on the photoelectric effect.
1950s –Bell Labs produce solar cells for space exploration.
1954 – Bell Labs announces the invention of the first modern silicon solar cell with a 6% efficiency. The New York Times forecasts that solar cells will eventually lead to a source of “limitless energy of the sun”.
1955 – Western Electric licenses commercial solar cell technologies. Hoffman Electronics creates a 2% efficient solar cell for $25/cell or $1,785/Watt
2008- South Coast Solar, LLC is born, and cements partnerships with SunPower, Schuco, and Heliocol as our preferred manufacturers. SCS becomes the only authorized SunPower dealer in Louisiana.
2009- South Coast Solar becomes Louisiana’s largest solar panel, solar hot water, and solar pool heating company. SCS offers the highest efficiency solar panels in the world, with a monocrystalline solar cell made by SunPower that has a 22.5% efficiency rating. SCS continues to be the only authorized dealer of SunPower in Louisiana.
Written By: Butler Ives
