Follow the sun: how other renewables can emulate the solar success story 

Follow the sun: how other renewables can emulate the solar success story 

“¢ Solar power has pursued the sharpest possible innovation curve in order to drive down prices.

“¢ Wind, hydropower and other renewables must follow the same course - though the climate crisis makes it a matter of even greater urgency.

“¢ Material innovation and cumulative technology improvements are key.

Over the last few decades, solar power has been one of the greatest success stories for the energy industry. Prices have fallen a staggering amount, making it the cheapest energy source on earth today, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that solar will be the "king“ of renewables growth over the next decade.

This uptake has been driven in part by a "learning by doing“ approach, as well as policies in places like the US and China that have helped nurture the market. The primary driver has been a willingness to constantly adapt and improve in order to achieve the sharpest possible innovation curve.



Looking at the rapid energy transition needed to help mitigate the worst effects of climate change, we must now achieve similar success in all other renewable sources. It's critical that sources such as offshore wind or hydropower storage are also able to decrease cost to the point where fossil