On Nature column: Solar energy, Part 1: History | Columns

Fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) generate about 60% of the electricity produced in the United States today. Renewables (wind, solar, hydro and biofuels) account for about 20%, and nuclear supplies most of the rest. Solar accounts for 3% of the total electricity produced.Photovoltaic cells transform the energy of the sun directly into electricity. Hollywood could produce an Oscar-winning film about the history of photovoltaic development. Some parts of the story are well known; others were shrouded in a military intelligence operation that took place at the end of World War II.As the war wound down, the U.S. was ramping up its technological advantage to counter the growing threat of a militarized Soviet Union. Operation Paperclip was conceived to…

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