The Solar Explosion

Abstract

There were two breakthroughs that led to a veritable revolution in photovoltaic prices. The commonly told story is that China started manufacturing lower-quality panels and dumped them on the world market at prices near (or even below) the cost of production. The truth is more complicated. Chinese manufacturing at scale played a part, but so did German industrial policy and a focus on improving the complete power system, not just the PV cells.