20 January 2012

An internet search into the history of solar power generation lead me to some interesting anecdotes from history that tell us a lot about economic short-termism, the political nature of technological advances and Anglo-French relations..

Solar heating for water systems has been around since the late 19th century.  The scientific principles behind the technology have been observed since the 18th century when a Swiss naturalist managed to boil water using only an insulated glass box.  In the early 20th century solar heating became commonplace in California, and then later in Florida but in both places a similar fate befell the solar heating industries.  In Los Angeles large gas fields were discovered, providing cheap and reliable heating fuel.  Don’t shed a tear for the industry though – the man behind it made a second fortune embracing gas-heating technology and sold his solar heating system to residents of Florida.  Plentiful sunshine, and high energy prices made solar heating a huge hit – half the population of Florida were heating their water by the power of the sun in 1941.  Post-war, however, falling energy prices, and aggressive marketing by Florida Power and Light selling bargain price electric heaters, got Florida hooked on fossil fuels again.

Further back than this, and on our side of the Atlantic, in the mid-19th century a Frenchman was busy developing a model for a solar powered vehicle – a steam train.  Auguste Mouchout received the backing of the French monarch to develop his idea – then disaster struck!  The French and English decided to get along better.  As a consequence the French could get their hands on cheap coal; they switched to a programme of coal fuelled transport improvements and the king stopped assisting Mouchout’s pioneering work.

Three examples where economics, and its tendency to reinforce behaviours that deliver only short term benefits, have stymied the development of societies that use the sun to meet at least some of their energy needs.  Food for thought in these times where rising energy prices at the moment are encouraging governments to invest in renewable technologies and making households and communities look for energy sources that they have control over.  A warning from history perhaps that we shouldn’t become complacent – a change in economic conditions brining fossil fuels back down in price could set us back another 20 years.  Just because the technology and the motivation are there, doesn’t mean cold, hard economics won’t get in the way.

The info for this article came from these sites:
http://www.californiasolarcenter.org/history_solarthermal.html
http://www.facts-about-solar-energy.com/solar-energy-history.html

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