According to the World Energy Outlook 2020 published last month, solar power is now the cheapest source of electricity in history. But how did solar become so cheap? Why did it take so long? And which lessons can we draw to accelerate innovation in other low-carbon technologies?

In this online CIES policy event, Greg Nemet, Professor of Public Affairs, will discuss the reasons behind the cost declines of solar energy and review the historical evolution of the institutional context in which solar has developed from the full supply chain of the industry - from sourcing silicon, the primary input material, to the activities of people installing panels on roofs - to the motivations behind adoption behavior. 

About the Speaker:

Gregory Nemet is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the La Follette School of Public Affairs.  He teaches courses in policy analysis, energy systems, and international environmental policy. He received his doctorate in energy and resources from the University of California, Berkeley. He received an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship in 2017 and used it to write a book on how solar PV provides lessons for the development of other low-carbon technologies: “How Solar Energy Became Cheap: A Model for Low-Carbon Innovation” (Routledge 2019).  

Read the full biography and Gregory Nemet's work on solar energy and his book on the website How Solar became Cheap.

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