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Discovery of Selenium's photo-conductivity
William Grylls Adams and Richard Evans Day discovered Selenium's ability to produce electricity. When exposed to light the Selenium cells produced electricity. But, they did not produce enough to power machines. This was still one of the earliest and most important breakthroughs in the development of solar energy. -
Solar America Initiative
The DOE announced investments of $17.6 million in six company-led, early-stage photovoltaic projects. These projects ran for 18 months. It was designed to fund these projects towards the commercial realm. -
California's Executive Order S-14-08
The 2004 Energy Report Update recommended increasing the target to 33 percent by 2020 in the state of California. This order was signed by Governor Schwarzenegger and stated that "[a]ll retail sellers of electricity shall serve 33 percent of their load with renewable energy by 2020." On the state level, California has the most ambitious solar energy program to date. -
Section 1603 grants are created
These grants were created in President Obama's 2009 stimulus package. They were designed to help defer the cost of 30% of the investment into solar energy. Though this program expired in 2011, it distributed $25 billion to solar companies. -
Investigation into the tax incentives for solar company
This was led by the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. It expanded an ongoing investigation into the billions of dollars invested into solar initiatives. It reviewed tax incentives given to seven different solar companies. -
SunShot Initiative
This sought to reduce solar costs by 75% from 2010 through 2020. The program reached into the commercial, residential, and utility-scale markets to reduce costs and spread solar energy. The project reduced costs and increased the accuracy of solar energy production predictions.