US #5518
2020 Solar Technology – Innovation
- One of five stamps celebrating American Innovation – this one commemorates advancements in the field of solar technology
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Innovation
Value: 55¢ First Class Mail (Forever)
First Day of Issue: August 20, 2020
First Day City:&nbs... more
US #5518
2020 Solar Technology – Innovation
- One of five stamps celebrating American Innovation – this one commemorates advancements in the field of solar technology
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Innovation
Value: 55¢ First Class Mail (Forever)
First Day of Issue: August 20, 2020
First Day City: Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Quantity Issued: 14,000,000
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Offset, Hot Foil Stamping
Format: Panes of 20
Tagging: Phosphor Tagged Paper, Block Tagged
Why the stamp was issued: To honor the achievements in the field of solar technology that have helped America grow into the nation it is today.
About the stamp design: Pictures block lettering of the word “Innovation” overlaying an existing photograph of a solar panel. Designed by USPS art director Antonio Alcalá.
Special design details: Hot foil stamping was added to the word “Innovation.” This gives the letters a holographic shimmer and makes them stand out.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue postmark was from Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, but no First Day of Issue Ceremony was held due to the ongoing Covid-19 global pandemic. Instead, the stamps were released during the American Philatelic Society’s Virtual Stamp Show.
About the Innovation set: Includes five stamps honoring the importance of innovation in American history – past and present. Specifically celebrates breakthroughs in the fields of computing, biomedicine, genome sequencing, robotics, and solar technology. Each design pictures block lettering of the word “Innovation” overlayed on exiting photographs related to the theme of each stamp. Stamps were designed by USPS art director Antonio Alcalá
History the stamp represents: Since it was discovered that burning fossil fuels is harmful to our planet, many new eco-friendly energy sources have been developed. One of the most promising harnesses the power of the sun – solar technology.
In 2000, the United Nations Development Program released its World Energy Assessment. They found that the yearly potential energy that could be captured using solar technology was several times more than what the world was consuming. This proved that, not only was there a viable replacement for damaging fossil fuels, but that option could also provide even more power.
About a decade later, the International Energy Agency said solar energy “will increase countries’ energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible, and mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating global warming, and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These advantages are global.”
Solar technology has many proven benefits over fossil fuels and continues to be made more efficient as time goes on. Many people and companies have already taken advantage of this increasingly popular and powerful technology. Solar technology has the potential to bring us into a new era of clean energy.
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