50 Years Ago Tech

50 years ago, the future of solar energy looked bright

Excerpt from the April 8, 1972 issue of Science News

an aerial photo showing a solar farm. There are rows and rows of solar panels grouped into squares as far as the image stretches. The sun is low in the sky.

The first solar energy farm in the United States was established in 1982. Today, the country has more than 2,500 such farms (one shown).

Markus Altmann/Corbis/Getty Images

By Aina Abell

Farming the sun’s energy – Science News, April 8, 1972

cover of the April 8, 1972 issue of Science News

More and more scientists and engineers are beginning to believe that solar conversion will account for a significant portion of the world’s future power needs.…