Photovoltaic solar power is examined from the atomic level up, starting with solid-state electronics, elemental crystals, and semiconductors. The preferential doping of silicon and germanium to make p-n junctions, transistors, and solar batteries is explained along with the growth of the PV industry that has seen solar panel prices drop and uptake increase exponentially over the past 4 decades according to Swanson’s Law (a solar equivalent of Moore’s Law). The manufacturing of the modern solar cell, behind-the-meter installations (residential and commercial solar), and utility-scale solar are all discussed.

The growth of the solar industry is traced from the beginning of the Space Age in 1957 to the first solar farm in 1982 in the Mojave Desert northeast of Los Angeles that generated 1 megawatt in a single location for the first time and the current record-breaking solar farms across the globe (India’s 2.2-GW Bhadla Solar Park is currently the largest). The latest developments in thin-film solar cells, building-integrated PV, and floating solar are discussed, concentrated solar power is explained (power tower and parabolic trough), and the advantages and disadvantages of utility-scale PV versus CSP examined. Home installation calculations, panel requirements, local insolation data, and tips to maximize output are given.