By: Lisa Schlais & Heidi Fischer

 6 th Century A.D. : Sunrooms on houses and public buildings were so common that the Justinian Code initiated “sun rights” to ensure individual access to the sun.  1839: French scientist Edmond Becquerel discovers the photovoltaic effect while experimenting with an electrolytic cell made up of two metal electrodes placed in an electricity-conducting solution—electricity-generation increased when exposed to light.  1954: Photovoltaic technology is born in the United States when Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson develop the silicon photovoltaic (PV) cell at Bell Labs—the first solar cell capable of converting enough of the sun’s energy into power to run everyday electrical equipment.  1998: Subhendu Guha, a noted scientist for his pioneering work in amorphous silicon, led the invention of flexible solar shingles, a roofing material and state- of-the-art technology for converting sunlight to electricity.  The PV shingles mount directly on to the roof and take the place of asphalt shingles. The system is connected to the utility grid through an inverter and produces electricity on customer’s side of the meter. United Solar Systems Corporation / PIX03636)

Pros  Solar energy pays for itself  Saves you money  Rebates pay for half  Reduces dirty fuel consumption  In some countries, solar energy is the best investment Cons  Solar energy is expensive  Complicated  A lot of misinformation about solar energy  Takes time and effort to learn everything  No transparent pricing; hard to know who to trust

Scenario A:  One 100 megawatt trough facility  Direct job growth 817, indirect and induced job growth 1,570  Total personal income attributed to construction and operations & management (O&M) phase estimated at $1.15 billion.  Gross State Product (GSP) will increase by $1.14 billion.

Scenario B:  10 plants constructed over 11-year construction cycle  Initial employment impact 3,830 jobs in the first year of construction peaking at 6,940 jobs.  First post-construction year has 1,090 employment impact  During O&M phase average of 1,800 jobs  Personal income between estimated $9.37 billion  GSP between estimated $9.85 billion

Scenario C:  Three plants constructed over two-year build cycle  Construction begins 2004, 2005, and 2006 and all completed by  2005 had 7,000 jobs attributed to construction of facilities  Average annual employment over construction phase is 4,900 jobs.  Average employment over O&M phase is 475 jobs  personal income growth estimated at $3.4 billion  GSP, for the same period, increased by $3.5 billion  solar.cfm

 Dilemma for international energy efficiency initiatives:  Trade-off between smallest common denominator acceptable for participating countries and specificity of goals and targets to be effective.  Differences in national government practice, legislation and regulations, and lack of cooperation.  What works well in one country does not work well for another

 Successful Initiative:  Local support and “buy-in”  Access to financing  Effective coordination of ALL parties involved.  Willingness to make policy changes and adopt regulations locally  Activities focus efficiency in:  Buildings  Appliances  Electrical equipment (motors/HVAC etc.)  Utilities/grids  Some transportation

 Industrial sector lacks cooperation due to competition  Focus:  Smaller businesses and commercial areas  Transportation (non-fossil based)  Specific industry sectors  Examples: Textiles and IT

 All buildings will be built to combine energy-efficient design and construction practices and renewable energy technologies for a net-zero energy building. In effect, the building will conserve enough and produce its own energy supply to create a new generation of cost-effective buildings that have zero net annual need for non-renewable energy.  Photovoltaic research and development will continue intense interest in new materials, cell designs, and novel approaches to solar material and product development. It is a future where the clothes you wear and your mode of transportation can produce power that is clean and safe.  The price of photovoltaic power will be competitive with traditional sources of electricity within 10 years.  Solar electricity will be used to electrolyze water, producing hydrogen for fuel cells for transportation and buildings.