15 Things You Don’t Know About Solar Power

Albert Einstein received a 1921 noble prize for experiments on the photoelectric effect.
10,000 U.S. households are now using solar energy to power their homes.
On his African journey 200 years ago, John Herschel (a british astronomer) was able to cook food using solar power.
The first large scale solar power plant was opened in 1982 in California.
Solar power comes in two major varieties: solar thermal and solar photovoltaic.
Solar thermal is less technologically complex than solar photovoltaic and is much easier to DIY.
In 2007, more Chinese homes use solar hot water than in all other countries combined.
The price of solar photovoltaic panels has dropped by at least 200% in the past 30 years.
The price of solar photovoltaic panels is currently continuing to drop.
The lowest solar photovoltaic prices per watt are usually for thin film.
The lowest solar photovoltaic module retail price is $1.25/watt (Oct. 2011) for thin film from a German retailer.
Current (Nov. 2011) low prices are partly due to a glut of polysilicon on the market from Chinese manufacturers, some of whom are going out of business.
There are pollution problems at some Chinese plants producing polysilicon.
Germany uses more solar photovoltaic power than the USA despite having a climate less adapted to it.
Photosynthesis has been in use on Earth for 3.5 billion years.