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Swiss scientis Horace de Saussure builds the first solar collector used to cook food
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English scientists William Nicholson and Sir Anthony Carlisle discovered that applying electric current to water produced hydrogen and oxygen gases. This process was later termed 'electrolysis'.
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By 1802, cities in Europe were using natural gas to operate street lamps and to create electricity.
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Robert Stirling applies for a patent for his solar thermal engine
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In the late 1830s, scientists discovered photovoltaic compounds, which release energy when exposed to light. This discovery eventually led to the development of solar cells and solar power.
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In 1839, William Robert Grove invented the first hydrogen fuel cell, which harnessed electricity from the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen.
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French mathematician August Mouchet proposed an idea for solar-powered steam engines
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By 1873, concerns of running out of coal prompted experiments with using solar energy.
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William Grylls Adams and Richard Evans Day proved that it is possible to convert solar energy into electricity directly, without any moving parts or heat.
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The first windmill used for the production of electricity was built in Scotland in July 1887 by Prof James Blyth of Anderson's College, Glasgow (the precursor of Strathclyde University).
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Clarence Kemp patents the first commercial solar water heater
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Einstein explains the photoelectric effect
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William Bailey invents a solar collector similar to the modern design
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The importance of solar energy was recognized in a 1911 Scientific America article: "in the far distant future, natural fuels having been exhausted [solar power] will remain as the only means of existence of the human race".
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In 1932 James Chadwick discovered the neutron.
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The first nuclear reactor project aimed at energy production was initiated in Brookhaven, New York in 1947.
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The year is 1956, and the first solar cells are available commercially.
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France constructed eight story parabolic solar furnace
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In the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter's administration advocated coal gasification as an alternative to expensive imported oil.
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From 1974 through the mid-1980s, the U.S. government worked with industry to advance the technology and enable development and deployment of large commercial wind turbines.
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Solar had long been used for heating and cooling, but solar panels were too costly to build solar farms until 1980.
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First large scale photovoltaic power station comes online in Hisperia, California
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First distributed power photovoltaic installation to support the power grid
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Commerical skyscraper in New York City includes building-integrated photovoltaics on the south and west facing facades
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As of July 2010, there is one commercial second-generation ethanol plant Inbicon Biomass Refinery, which is operating in Denmark.
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2012 - 3D PV-cel with 30% more energy efficiency
