Coming summer 2025

Gregory Nemet brings new insights to his definitive study on the solar technology revolution. Solar is cheap, Nemet documents in detail, because it became a global technology—a warning to policy makers who are pushing nationalism without regard for how it will undermine technological innovation and solving problems like climate change.
— Prof. David Victor, UC San Diego
It is rare for a book to aim so explicitly at explaining one of the fundamental transformations of the age; it is rarer still for one to succeed in that aim. Greg Nemet’s “How solar energy became cheap” is one of those rarest of books. And as if that were not enough, it does so clearly and in a way useful not only to those seeking to understand today’s world, but also to those seeking to improve tomorrow’s. If the fight against climate change is to stand a chance, many other technologies need to achieve solar-like growth. This book has important lessons for how that can be done. It is indispensable.
— Oliver Morton, The Economist
Gregory Nemet brilliantly describes how solar became cheap. Now it is time to transfer this solar success story to all types of renewable energy and other technologies to bring carbon dioxide concentrations back to pre-industrial levels. This is the path to the survival of human civilization, for which Gregory Nemet provides important suggestions.
— Hans-Josef Fell, German Green Party

Synopsis:

The climate problem is getting worse but the solutions are getting better. So far, no technology has done more for improving the solutions available to address climate change than solar photovoltaics (PV). Updated with new data and chapters, this 2nd editions describes an array of driving forces leading us toward a solar-centric energy system, one where solar power lies at the core rather than at the edge.

Developments in solar since the 1st edition in 2019:

  1. Widespread adoption (4x)

  2. Deeper cost reductions (-75%)

  3. Concentration of production (85%)

  4. Adoption faster in Global South

  5. Grid integration with high solar

  6. Autarchy, diversifying production

  7. Industrial policy now central

  8. Rise of energy prosumers

Key points from the book:

The US created the technology, Germany built a market, and China made it cheap.

No single country did it. Manufacturing shifted within a global innovation system.

Solar’s learning curve continues

Continued learning and adoption are putting the world on the path to a solar-centric economy.

Book talk on 1st edition. Minocqua WI (2020)