Gregory F. Nemet

How Solar Energy Became Cheap (eBook, PDF)

Pathway to a Solar-Centric Economy

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

The climate problem is getting worse, but the solutions are getting better. So far, no technology has done more to improve the solutions available to address climate change than solar photovoltaics (PV). This revised edition 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.

Now in its second edition the book focuses on the future of solar, taking into account important changes since it was first published. It includes discussions on further growth and cost reductions, industrial policy, and grid integration of high solar. It has been fully revised to include the most recent data available, and includes two new chapters on India, the most important solar market in the Global South, and Australia, the fastest growing market for rooftop solar. The book concludes with a new chapter on a solar-centric economy. The costs of solar PV modules have reduced significantly since they were first commercialized and, in sunny places, are now cheaper than any other form of electricity. Drawing on developments in the US, Japan, Germany, Australia, India, and China, the book analyses the evolution and success of PV and asks how it can serve as a model for other low-carbon technologies, which require urgent innovation to address climate change.

It will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy technology and innovation, climate change and energy analysis and policy, as well as practitioners and policymakers working in the energy industries.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Taylor & Francis eBooks
• Seitenzahl: 274
• Erscheinungstermin: 18. Juli 2025
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781040395035
• Artikelnr.: 74334215

Autorenporträt

Gregory F. Nemet is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, in the La Follette School of Public Affairs, where he recently served as Interim Director. He holds the Salzwedel Distinguished Faculty Chair in Business and Regulation and is also a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor. He was awarded the inaugural World Citizen Prize in Environmental Performance by APPAM in 2019. He was a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 6th Assessment Report (2023).

Inhaltsangabe

1. Introduction Part 1: Creating a Technology 2. Scientific Origins 3. US
Technology Push Part 2: Building a Market 4. Japanese Niche Markets 5.
German Demand Pull Part 3: Making it Cheap 6. Chinese Entrepreneurs 7.
Australia and India 8. Local Learning Part 4: Future pathways 9. Solar as a
Model to Follow 10. Accelerating Innovation 11. Toward a Solar-Centric
Economy

Rezensionen

"The only way to save our planet and protect the climate is a global 100% renewable energy system, and solar energy will be the key component. In this book, Gregory F. Nemet traces the path of solar PV from its beginnings with impressive detail and insight to show that effective climate protection is within reach." -- Hans-Josef Fell, Energy Watch Group, Germany

"How Solar Energy Became Cheap provides a comprehensive overview of the long pathway that PV took from a scientific idea to the world's most inexpensive form of electricity. It shows the central role China has played as well as the international linkages that have been so crucial, and it provides much needed guidance for how we can use the lessons of solar to accelerate innovation in the other climate technologies we will need." -- Peng Zhou, China University of Petroleum, China

"Gregory F. Nemet has written a comprehensive and engaging treatise answering a crucial question-how did solar energy get so cheap? For decades, solar energy was a fringe energy source, but a confluence of public policies and private entrepreneurship in a few pioneer countries led solar to become the cheapest, fastest-growing energy source on Earth. Nemet's book provides a theoretically coherent explanation for this phenomenon and distils lessons that other technologies essential for combating climate change will need to follow. The book is peppered with fascinating anecdotes and backed by an impressive breadth of original research." - Varun Sivaram, Chief Technology Officer, ReNew Power, India

"The only way to save our planet and protect the climate is a global 100% renewable energy system, and solar energy will be the key component. In this book, Gregory F. Nemet traces the path of solar PV from its beginnings with impressive detail and insight to show that effective climate protection is within reach." -- Hans-Josef Fell, Energy Watch Group, Germany

"How Solar Energy Became Cheap provides a comprehensive overview of the long pathway that PV took from a scientific idea to the world's most inexpensive form of electricity. It shows the central role China has played as well as the international linkages that have been so crucial, and it provides much needed guidance for how we can use the lessons of solar to accelerate innovation in the other climate technologies we will need." -- Peng Zhou, China University of Petroleum, China



"Gregory F. Nemet has written a comprehensive and engaging treatise answering a crucial question-how did solar energy get so cheap? For decades, solar energy was a fringe energy source, but a confluence of public policies and private entrepreneurship in a few pioneer countries led solar to become the cheapest, fastest-growing energy source on Earth. Nemet's book provides a theoretically coherent explanation for this phenomenon and distils lessons that other technologies essential for combating climate change will need to follow. The book is peppered with fascinating anecdotes and backed by an impressive breadth of original research." - Varun Sivaram, Chief Technology Officer, ReNew Power, India