Restored archive. The original History Commons is no longer online; this is a read-only edition of its timelines. Content is licensed CC BY-NC-SA.

History Commons Archive

Restored archive of the open-content investigative journalism project

1955: Western Electric Sells PV Licenses

Western Electric begins selling commercial licenses for silicon photovoltaic (PV) technologies (see 1954). Some successful products include PV-powered dollar bill changers and devices that decode computer punch cards and tape. [US Department of Energy, 2002 pdf file ]