How Solar Became Cheap

Energy vs Climate: How climate is changing our energy systems · Mar 4, 2022 · 1h 4m

The cost of solar power has decreased by a factor of 1,000 over the last fifty years, and by a factor of 10,000 since it was first used to power a satellite in the mid-1950s. According to the International Energy Agency, in some sunny regions solar is now the cheapest energy available – cheaper than coal, gas and wind. What have we learned from solar's multi-decade cost curve decline? How did it benefit from a free flow of ideas, equipment and people across national borders? What lessons can we apply to other forms of climatetech, such as energy storage and carbon capture?

David, Sara, Ed…