From Space to Earth

Historians will continue to wait for a professional history of solar power—one that places that technology in the context of its times; assesses its meaning for engineering, politics, and international development; and presents compelling, complete accounts of why key actors made the decisions they did. In the meantime, however, John Perlin's volume keeps the ball in play. Perlin offers a wealth of interview-based information and a marvelous array of pictorial material. Most notably, he correctly perceives that photovoltaic technology—"PV"—has succeeded as an industrial product that generates onsite power in small quantities, rather than (as originally envisioned by some promoters) as a direct substitute for large, central-station power plants

Archaeology · Architectural engineering · Business · Context (archaeology) · Electrical engineering · Electricity · Epistemology · Meaning (existential) · Photovoltaic system · Physics · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Solar Power · Engineering · Global Energy and Sustainability Research · History · Law