What did the oil crisis of '73 have to do with the popularization of photovoltaics?

Question

I am constantly reading about how photovoltaics got big boost by the research community because of the oil crises in both 1973 and 1979 (and this "push" died down with the oil glut in the 80s). Ex : the Federal Photovoltaic Utilization Program of 1978 and the introduction of NREL. What I don't understand is why PV systems were pushed as an alternative to oil. Photovoltaics produce electricity, and I don't see what this has to do with crude oil.

Any ideas are welcome.

Answer 1

Oil = Energy

Electricity = Energy

During the oil crisis of 1973 it was very hard to get gas. You could only line up for it on an odd or even day of the week depending on how many cylinders your engine ran on. So people started to ask themselves, "whatelse can I use to propel myself from point A to point B?" Answer: electricity. I highly recommend a DVD called Who Killed the Electic Car? I rented it at Blockbuster. It turns out there are all kinds of "special interests" out there, who don't want us to have options. Really.

Answer 2

Back then many electrical plants were powered by oil, some still are. Oil was seen as cleaner then coal and oil was cheap enough to compete with coal, so when the price of oil shot up so did the price of electricity, the government decided, with a little help from the lobbyists, the give tax breaks to people who put up PV systems and help ease the oil crises.