As the Doomsday Clock approached 89 seconds to midnight, the nearest it has been to a natural disaster, in seven decades, it is more important than ever that we decrease our carbon footprint and take care of the earth.
Discovered as early as 7BC, solar power has become a staple to human life. The Greeks and Romans commonly used sunlight to light fires in religious events, using shiny objects. In 1839, French physicist, Edmond Becquerel, discovered the photovoltaic effect whilst experimenting with electrodes, thus creating the photovoltaic cell. Over a decade later, the technology we use today in solar panels was developed by Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson, when creating the silicon PV cell.
Discovered as early as 7BC, solar power has become a staple to human life.
Solar power works by converting light from the sun into electricity and heat. This is generated through solar panels, which may feature on the top of residential rooves, or in large-scale solar farms. 4.9% of The National Grid’s energy was solar in 2023, and in December 2024, it was estimated that 1.4 million homes in the UK have solar panels installed, the most in South East England.
73,000 megawatts of energy is created each year, by the UK’s first transmission-connected solar plant in Bristol, which is enough to power over 17,300 homes. The UK government aims to have installed 70 gigawatts of solar power by 2035, enough to power 20 million homes. Also in 2035, the US would like to be 40% solar, according to their plans for a zero-carbon grid, back in 2021. However, with Trump as President, this seems unlikely, with his plans to drill for more oil and use more coal, dismissing wind and solar energy creation.
The UK government aims to have installed 70 gigawatts of solar power by 2035, enough to power 20 million homes.
More locally, the University of Exeter has recently installed solar panels close to the Duryard halls, connecting over 1,800 solar panels to generate over 1,000 megawatts, saving 225 tonnes of CO2 at the university site.
