By the end of the century, scientists created a special type of solar cells that converted upwards of 36% of the sunlight it collected into usable energy. These developments built tremendous momentum for not only solar power, but for renewable energy technologies around the world. Solar energy conversion describes technologies devoted to the transformation of solar energy to other (useful) forms of energy, including electricity, fuel, and heat. It covers light-harvesting technologies including traditional. Solar cells started in 1876 with William Grylls Adams along with an undergraduate student of his. A French scientist, by the name of, first discovered the in the summer of 1839. By the 1960s solar power was the standard for powering space-bound satellites. In the early 1970s, solar cell technology became cheaper and more available ($20/watt). Between 1970 and 1990, solar power became more co.