How solar energy got so cheap

Cheap solar is a policy success story.
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Since 2009, the price of solar energy has come down by 90 percent. That’s no accident. It’s the result of policy interventions from the US to Germany to China.
As policy analyst Gregory Nemet puts it, “No one country is responsible. It was a relay race rather than a competition.” The global flow of knowledge, people, technology, and policy helped bring down the price per watt from more than $100 in 1976 to less than $0.50 today, according to this analysis from the folks at Our World in Data. ourworldindata...
If we can learn the right lessons from solar’s success, it could help us develop and deploy the technology we need to keep our planet habitable and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
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[@Vox]

The first commercial solar cell was purchased in 1953 by the US Army. At the time, the Army was in charge of the US attempt to put a satellite in outer space, and scientists there hoped to use solar cells to power the satellites once they were in orbit. They succeeded a few years later - and you can see the solar cells on the body of the satellite in these photos! www.deepspace.ucsb.edu/outreach/the-space-race/the-story-of-vanguard Thanks for watching!

[@xanthespace5141]

Ah, so close to the anniversary of human spaceflight! Wish you had some videos on the Space Race or something

[@alainpannetier2543]

I think it's worth mentioning that, by heavily subsiding solar energy when there was no strong business case for it, Germany unlocked the potential for transformation at the scale of the planet. They created a market large enough to enable a big drop of costs and prices. This then benefited China as a supplier; but beyond the immediate trade aspects, we all benefit from this inspired foresight because, *now*. developing countries don't have to install cheap coal power station to fuel their growth. The cheapest solutions are now based on solar, of which they have plenty. The best part is that solar and wind power don't require a costly national electric grid. Production and consumption are local and can scale up and down. Deployment is fast and modular. Need more power? Install new panels. Need more storage? Install new batteries. I hope that what's left of the pro-nuclear crowds realize that nuclear energy would never have been so impactful on climate and that they stop vilifying Germany.

[@genuinerf4868]

Producing batteries for storage makes it not sooo clean energy

[@alainpannetier2543]

@@genuinerf4868 " Producing batteries for storage makes it not sooo clean energy" So car batteries are clean but solar panel batteries are not?

[@secularmonk5176]

As was mentioned in the final moments of the vid, what we need now is good energy storage ... cuz solar and wind don't necessarily produce power when the grid needs it most. On top of that, the grid will need to be modified because currently it is built around a "flywheel" model, where the sheer mass of the natural gas and coal turbines keeps the grid stable for the few minutes it takes to adjust to switches in supply to meet demand. Solid state batteries storing renewable power, or water reservoirs with gravity storage, operate at a different scale. It's not impossible, but don't assume all we need is public support and a snap of the fingers.

[@ncubesays]

If anything, solar technology is going to be extremely transformational in the development of the global south. Cities in my country Zimbabwe have been installing solar powered street lighting, saving millions in their energy bills.

[@Rainbowhawk1993]

I wish you the best.

[@TheAmericanAmerican]

Based! Solarize EVERYTHING!!!

[@Kartoffelbrei-zv6yc]

your country is a mess bruv, wish you the best

[@a.p.6580]

Very good. Investing in renewable sources is the BEST thing to invest in, and does wonders in the Global South because it's both cheap and does not come with the disadvantage of beign reliant on other countries like fossil fuels.

[@Student0Toucher]

Zimbabwe is a hilarious name

[@Piratewaffle43]

Man, Reagan really took a look at everything cool America was doing and took that personally.

[@TheVerendus]

Him and his medusa of a wife. Single-handedly responsible for a lot of the woe the country faces now. It should be a national pastime to desecrate the Reagans' graves.

[@catboynestormakhno2694]

@@TheVerendus it should be an international passtime

[@AndrewBehm]

So true!

[@hypergraphic]

Yeah, Reagan was definitely one of the worst Presidents in recent memory, in my opinion.

[@ThierryVerhoeven]

To illustrate: when Jimmy Carter was president solar panels were placed on the roof of the White House, which were removed during the Reagan administration. A completely pointless act since they were already installed and paid for. Nothing was gained by removing them.

[@eineperson9849]

As a german, it makes me sad that 20 years ago, we were doing so well and now, after 16 years of conservative governments with ties to the coal industry, we're lacking behind so greatly...

[@nimicmo]

Indeed, we get a little bit too much credit in this video imo

[@SomePotato]

@@nimicmo It truly was vitally important for the solar industry as a whole. But you can blame the conservatives for killing the German solar industry.

[@udishomer5852]

Germany is not lagging behind in solar energy. Even with a low number of sunny hours per year, Germany has the 3rd highest solar deployments per capita in the world (after Netherlands and Australia).

[@SomePotato]

@@udishomer5852 Sorry for being unclear. Germany used to have a world-leading industry manufacturing solar panels. We still install them, we just install Chinese panels these days.

[@gasdive]

Think how I feel living in New South Wales where we lead the world in solar panel technology, only to completely ignore it for so long that the Chinese finally said, "if you're not going to do it, we may as well".

[@pavarottiaardvark3431]

Adds another thing to the "Ronald Reagan ruined it" list

[@Chris-wq3pe]

Ronny Ray-Gun

[@robertkirchner7981]

Add another thing to the "Carter was a better president than anyone thought at the time" list.

[@JohnVKaravitis]

How so?

[@LeseanDeVon]

@@JohnVKaravitis gulp gulp

[@luisfilipe2023]

What does regan have to do with anything lol

[@HeisenbergFam]

Energy got cheaper while housing market more expensive, what a time to be alive

[@caharlie2127]

2minutepapers

[@Emerald_Forge]

​@@caharlie2127 I love his videos but why are you just randomly commenting that?

[@Eoin-B]

Everything got cheaper in the last 20 years and housing swallowed up the savings.

[@BeMyArt]

So rich could be richer again. Magnificent truly ❤

[@caharlie2127]

@@Emerald_Forge it’s cause i was wondering if he was quoting, although it is a common saying ‘what a time to be alive’ which is twominutepapers catchphrase

[@OrangeSectorFN]

Vox always explains stuff so clearly

[@SomeKidFromBritain]

Simp

[@David-dv6yv]

🤣😂😂😂

[@Handle35667]

Clown comment for sure

[@colincolenso]

You should be in prison for being so foolish Blackjack.

[@qihaoliu3631]

Uhm they completely ignored the scientific and engineering breakthroughs of solar efficiency and solely focused on political policies. Governments are the last thing I think of when dicussing PV costs

[@TheSucram729]

“Something good is happening in my country? Not on my watch” -Ronald Reagan

[@harveyprobz94]

I remember learning about solar power in junior high in 07-09. My tech teacher said you’d only find solar panels on the homes of rich people. Fast forward to now and there are middle class homes across the city with owners who can afford to put solar panels on their homes if they choose.

[@majidmehmood3780]

you can find them in Africa, Afghanistan too

[@averagecucumber]

Not just middle class homes but countries like Singapore have based their life around solar power. Phenomenal whaat humans can achieve in such small specks of duration.

[@lovestein92]

my house is one of the only ones without solar in my neighborhood in california. there’s nothing but great things you hear about them

[@illbeyourmonster3591]

@@averagecucumber You mean the other 90% of their power that comes from fossil fuels doesn't count? I'm guessing that you don't know about how the rest of us can use the internet either?

[@RaterProTrickster]

Even work well in England. People who have them here tend to make money back as the remaining gets sold to the grid.

[@adelasgar]

This research is more about economical side of how and why it got cheaper. One of the main reason of price drop was changing the material inside of solar panel. Back in 60's solar panels were used mainly in space applications and GaAs (Gallium Arsenide) were main material in panels in satellites. Then for commercial purposes mono silicas started to produce massively and then to drop the price we started to apply polysilicons, which has a little bit less efficiency, but produces more energy than mono cells. So, in conclusion, usage of cheaper yet effective elements made a key part in price drop as well, which weren't included here. (And yet because silica being not environmentally friendly, we're trying to find new better materials such as Perovskite based cells)

[@dryzalizer]

Thank you for mentioning the materials, if all these panels are being deployed worldwide they need to be as recyclable as possible when their lifespan ends.

[@udishomer5852]

Technologically you are correct, but the reason to all this technological progress was governments funding research and subsidizing solar energy deployment. Governments pushed the technological developments much faster then it would have happened naturally.

[@nisbahmumtaz909]

@@udishomer5852 the issue i have with the video is they highlight pretty much everything about the market development EXCEPT on the actual technological developments no idea why they got polisci writers and moore's law enjoyers to cover this instead of actual engineers

[@acchaladka]

​@TheBoy Meister because technology improvements don't make the market. The market doesn't progress as fast as it could otherwise if technology remains static but the economics make the transaction go, not vice-versa usually.

[@jpcool95480]

This is fair, the market plays a big role. But multiple order of magnitude decreases in cost are largely linked to scientific advancements that drastically change the game.

[@epretzel72]

I’ve been telling everyone for years, when I was in grad school for chemistry the groups that had the most money, publications, and success were always the ones that did research on solar. I have no doubt it’s the way it’s the way of the future

[@andrewyang7763]

this and batteries -- lots of money to be made in these emerging industries

[@chickenleg440]

why try to harness the power of something we have no control over? at least with nuclear, coal, and natural gas we can control the output of electricity, we have no such control over solar and wind. highly dangerous to try and harness the power of nature, as nature is extremely unpredictable.

[@MrSupernova111]

Rich people were, and still are, getting subsidies funded by you, the tax payer, to put solar panels on their roof. You should have also taken an economic class so you better understand how people like Elon Musk gets rich beyond belief on the backs of the working class.

[@Valentin-oc5nh]

when we finally have sustainable batteries we only need solar and wind

[@bryllemutia404]

"Eventhough Germany is not the sunniest place in the world." I felt that.

[@Tesserex]

I got solar installed last summer. Expensive up front, but after tax credit and rebates was estimated to be about $16k. It's already made back over $1500 in under 10 months, putting me on track for ~8 year breakeven. Even better, I was informed a while back that the SREC prices went up, meaning my rebate amount will go up by about $2300, so my actual net cost will be around $14k. I'm in the Chicago suburbs, not exactly where you'd think of first for cost effective solar.

[@RealRiders]

Thanks for sharing. Unfortunately, $16k is still expensive compared to other countries, and Solar salesmen are predatory at most. Can I ask what's your interests rate on your loan?

[@Tesserex]

@@RealRiders no loan, I bought outright. I agree the price is still too high for most. It's a 13.5 kW system though, a bit on the large side for residential.

[@RealRiders]

@@Tesserex Thanks for the reply. Buying outright is the way to go.

[@ass4sale2]

I just put in for my solar system the total amount is coming to 62k in Maryland. 16000kw a year system. Anyone who says it's cheap is wrong cause 62k upfront is a lot of money.

[@Tesserex]

@@ass4sale2 I just checked again, and my system is actually 14.4 kW, and it was $43k up front, so just a hair under $3 / watt. Yours is about $3.87 per watt. Who was your installer? Even so, you'll get almost two thirds of that back from the tax credit and SRECs.

[@djgalebcn]

On top of that now in Spain you can even divide the consumption of your different possessions under the same contract. That means that you can basically build your own powerplant and use it to reduce the payment on all your contracts. This is a game changer

[@aturchomicz821]

The magic of Socialism✨✨

[@TheSh00ty]

@@aturchomicz821 ???

[@andresgarciacastro1783]

Only some companies allow that, unless your buildings are less than 2 km away, if i'm not mistaken.

[@TheAmericanAmerican]

I got into the solar panel industry 7 years ago because I saw its potential to END the fossil fuel industry... business is a boomin' and I'm all for it!

[@firepod21]

Well, it didn’t really end fossil fuel. Look at how much fossil Germany needs to have to compensate for intermittency of renewable. Germany actually has extremely high emissions factors compared to France, Sweden or Canada

[@TheAmericanAmerican]

@Cyril dude... where did I say it has ENDED the fossil fuel industry? 🙄🤦🏻 Obviously, it's something that will take years, if not decades, to achieve. Sorry to be a d*ck here, but seriously think before you post.

[@MikeCalhoun]

@@firepod21 Didn't end it yet but it chips away at it every year.

[@iba7648]

​@@firepod21solar+wind+energy storage will economically and ecologically outperform all other sources of energy in maximum 10 years from now.

[@virescon]

Everything always points to Reagon being the worst

[@Phantom0123456]

Keep in mind Vox tends to lean towards the left and is more likely to paint Reagan negatively. Reagan's domestic policies weren't always the best, but he definitely wasn't anywhere near the worst president either, domestically speaking.. Definitely more "mid" to moderately below average if anything. That said, his foreign policy was actually fairly strong.

[@youraveragekomodo]

Reagan has 'okay' domestic policy, but his foreign policy is just really, _really_ awful.

[@Phantom0123456]

@youraveragekomodo You could make that argument. Some do. I think how Reagan handled the berlin wall and the Cold War as a whole was very strong. He had multiple failures in latin america but ultimately was a major figure heard in propelling the world out of the Cold War.

[@aldeno8055]

@@Phantom0123456 He didn’t do nothing really in the Cold War the Berlin Wall wasn’t even his doing, only thing that was notable was the Iran Contra scandal internationally. The whole Iran hostage situation was suspicious as well given what happened later.

[@EvilDransChannel]

@@Phantom0123456he really jump started income inequality with his trickle down economics, so I do believe he was one of the worst presidents.

[@PavNesQ]

yes really, 10 years ago I did not even imagine that something like this would be possible, but now when I travel around the country I see a lot of solar "farms", and even in my village two privat households have installed these solar panels, and I live in Moldova!!!

[@Ishiisan]

I guess Jimmy Carter was ahead of his time. I remember growing up in Japan, solar water heater was quite common

[@ShankarSivarajan]

He thought the world was running out of "fossil fuels." At 1:24, he calls supplies "dwindling." There's plenty of gas and oil; that was a mistaken concern.

[@abdallababikir9154]

@@ShankarSivarajan he was right for the wrong reasons. That still makes him right

[@ShankarSivarajan]

@@abdallababikir9154 His factual claims were wrong. That's literally the opposite of being right.

[@drakerbaker1756]

​@@ShankarSivarajanI don't think there's "plenty" fossil fuels left. Of what we have, the amount of easily reachable reserves, like in the Middle East, are running out incredibly quickly. After that, we're left with the hard to get oil reserves, which cost much more to extract, and would probably be like buying rooftop solar in 1990, except the technology has no room to grow and become more affordable.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@ShankarSivarajan yes and no. We didn't find that many huge new sources, it's mostly that fracking became commercially feasible to make previously un-viable sources viable. A lot of fracking is on previously-tapped-out wells, or sites which were previously surveyed and found to be too diffuse. Can't really blame him, or anyone else at the time, for not just blindly hoping there would be some technological fix to increase yields so much.

[@HAL-bo5lr]

I’m not even 20. But I remember when people were pouting about how “it’s too expensive” just 8~10 years ago. Though, I didn’t hear people brush off the idea of it becoming widespread. But I don’t think anyone I knew imagined that so many INDIVIDUAL homes would adopt solar panels. We thought for the foreseeable future, it would just remain a sideshow power source only found in large open & rural spaces.

[@pHixiq]

22 here, fax

[@averagecucumber]

Turning 19 this year, this guys spitting facts.

[@MastrDante]

4 years old here, i was saying the same exact thing.

[@pHixiq]

@@MastrDante 😂

[@michaelransom5841]

i don't know where these numbers are coming from.. its still basically the same as it was 8-10 years ago.. way too expensive...

[@kenbobcorn]

Can we all agree that between Vox, Vice and maybe Business Insider they have the best described and animated videos on current topics. Vox videos are always so well done and explained in my opinion.

[@LittleA1991]

Kurzgesagt is also very good

[@kenbobcorn]

@@LittleA1991 True, but Vox and other like them cover more recent news stories and events, while Kurzgesagt covers more technology and society. They are all good, lets be real.

[@stephaniec3022]

My family purchased new solar for the roof, and it's both cheaper and more efficient than the old pannels we got in 2017. Incredible how fast the changes are. Hopefully soon we generate enough to offset the entire cost of the energy bill.

[@teiuq]

you replaced panels from 2017?

[@jonathanjensen3494]

A similar video with other renewable energy sources, like electricity generated by wind, would be wonderful!

[@himenesu93]

as far as I'm concerned, they're nowhere near as cheap as solar technology.. also wind appears to be stuck in the efficiency by the winds nature, and the way of extracting energy volumetrically (the bigger the aerogenerator, more energy will be generated, making this huge windmills is really costy), on the other hand solar advances with the development of semiconductors which we all know is an upgoing curve

[@ahmedalqassem]

I love the "invisible hands" reference. The world won't be fixed by itself. It takes efforts and commitment of others

[@AnimMouse]

And that is the "invisible hand".

[@akeem2983]

@@AnimMouse This hand is pretty visible if you know where to look

[@AnimMouse]

@@akeem2983 The silent majority is pretty loud if you know where to hear.

[@baby19981997]

Omg is there one thing Reagan didn’t almost not ruin. Every time you hear Reagan about something in the past our country is pushed back a couple decades

[@8is]

Vox is left-leaning, they aren't going to bring up all the good things Reagan did because Reagan has become an icon of then right. The same isn't true for Carter, which means they can bring up good things he did, even though Carter and Reagan had pretty similar policies that were mostly products of their time.

[@bighamster2]

Similar things happened in the UK with Thatcher. For example, the UK could have had a full fibre-optic connection to every house in the 80s/90s but it was stopped because of ideology (it would have been done by a then state-owned company). Decades later the UK still doesn't have much fibre and has pretty poor internet speeds as a result.

[@brettmeikle]

@@8is Ah, like his involvement in the indigenous genocide in Guatamala in the 80s - that kind of 'good thing'?

[@hobocop632]

@@bighamster2 Same thing in Germany. Kohl decided against wide spread fibre-optic connections in favour of decade old tv cables.

[@AisuruMirai]

​@@8is "all the good things Reagan did" Such as?

[@jmlkinc]

Pretty much any story about ambitious US plans that could have helped revolutionize and improve society ends with 'Reagan destroyed it'.

[@nicholask.5185]

The bit about Germany was really interesting. I wonder how many years / decades we would have been delayed to reach our current progress if it wasn't for them.

[@shake6321]

zero. solar is following a natural power law of technology. if you notice the curve stays steady over time. if germany was responsive then it would take a drastic dip

[@FarmerSchinken]

​@@shake6321That doesn't make sense. Technology doesn't advance by itself but by people adopting and advancing it. With your logic, Hyperloops (a.k.a Vactrains, which is what it was called in 1910), would be everywhere because by now they should be dirt cheap to build and operate...

[@shake6321]

@@FarmerSchinken agreed that technology advances due to humans. but you asked about germany specifically. you didnt say "what would happen if humans didnt do something..." if germany didnt intervene other humans would have picked up the slack somewhere.

[@FarmerSchinken]

@@shake6321 Maybe, maybe not. Still it is like saying "If Einstein didn't came up with the theory of relativity, someone else would have". Just like demand by computer games has accelerated parallel computing which led to the current AI "revolution", artificial demand by German subsidies has accelerated the viability of solar power by a few decades

[@udaykumar4u]

My home runs 100% on solar, I also drive a EV. Despite few downsides, Solar can drastically improve the global energy landscape - of course it must become much more affordable.

[@SneakySt]

I wish we could all get solar

[@WhiteSharks-wz6kn]

Sadly, the oil companies fund a world-wide desinformation campaing against solar and bribe policy makers to deny any kind of solar expansion. They additionally fund millions annualy into climate change denial so their co2 emitting products, who are responsible for the unpresidented warming, don't recieve any liability for the damage they cause.

[@TheAmericanAmerican]

It's coming! It will be part of the mandatory building code for new houses and buildings country wide soon! Already the case in California and in all of Germany :)

[@thomasdobroth]

The story of Solar is both the drop in prices and the increase in efficiency. Vox gets it half right. Vox should have included the enormous contribution of Professor Richard Swanson (Stanford Professor and Founder of SunPower). His research moved the efficiency of solar from a few percent to over 20%. Without his contribution, solar would not make economic sense.

[@shake6321]

but then how could they blame reagan and make gov look great?

[@steventodd787]

Yes, and how do efficiency gains happen? Through new technologies and who funds that research? Based upon what we see right now with new solar technology research, that comes from the government. They are discovered in universities.

[@rachelle2227]

We have solar panels on our roof, and I’m happy to be an early adopter. There’s not that many houses with solar panels around in Wisconsin where I live. We could afford to put them in and we are lucky we could make this choice. We could afford to make this decision to make our lives just a little greener, and in turn the planet. Doing our part.

[@johnbash-on-ger]

Thank you.

[@rohitmishra670]

Solar Pannels may have become cheap. But its still out of budget for millions of families, because its still expensive. Because Panel alone dont help, you need other system along with it, which does not got cheap as compared to panels.

[@nickstersss]

its definitely on track to get there! i mean look at smartphones only used to have expensive models then now bam we have super budget models too in as like a decade of smartphone!

[@huckleberryfinn6578]

It depends on the country. In Germany Solar is extremely cheap. You have a return in under 2 years, compared to energy from local supplier.

[@johnsamuel1999]

Yes solar installation costs are high due to labor prives

[@quentinwilliams1158]

As with all technology, the price will come down. At some point the cost to finance a solar system will cost the same as your monthly electricity bill. The difference is once you pay it off you eliminate or severely reduce your electric bill.

[@autohmae]

Which is why leasing, etc. is a thing...

[@Rukkuz_]

Why they silencing Mike?

[@atyshlmes4360]

A HIGHLY underrated challenge for solar in the coming decades is the cost of the raw materials. When demand for solar skyrockets to a massive scale, the metals used to produce will get more expensive and more scarce. Mining industry experts are very worried that there will simply not be enough metals to feed the "green transition".

[@ZayneEnterprizes]

Especially if they stop using slavery & child labor to mine them…

[@gpsfinancial6988]

Silicon is the second most common element in the earths crust

[@firepod21]

@@gpsfinancial6988 silicon is not the only thing needed… The IAE indeed says that there will be resource and energy scarcity to produce more renewable in the future

[@Zachary-Rosenberg]

A lot of people are getting solar down here in South Africa because of load shedding... it’s become a very popular solution.

[@LashanR]

4:00 I wasn't expecting my uni to pop up in a Vox video 😂 Given UNSW's success with the World Solar Challenge (solar car racing) maybe I shouldn't be so surprised

[@QoStoOds]

Cool, now store that energy long term. That will be the real game changer to renewables.

[@Chris-wq3pe]

Yes, battery tech needs to catch up, but also a better way of making batteries, Lithium is not the answer

[@arcssssss]

Now the power plants already can store the energy using hydropower. By storing the energy in the form of potential energy of water. Though this method has a low efficiency

[@ChineseKiwi]

@@Chris-wq3pe there already is. It's sodium-ion batteries. Lithium has greater energy density for the size and is lighter, thus why it is used for your phone for example. Renewable battery storage doesn't need to consider size and weight as it is stationary. Sodium-ion is also cheaper for the energy density vs lithium.

[@8is]

@@arcssssss It's the best we've got since electrical batteries are just more expensive and resource inefficient. Nuclear is also really important for its reliability. It can easily form the base of any energy grid.

[@8is]

​@@Chris-wq3pe Electrical batteries are just expensive and resource inefficient, we can't afford an absurd amount of them that would be needed to store a significant amount of energy.

[@norskluna]

You teach me stuff about germany I didn't know as a German. 😂 Good vidoes, like always :)

[@Student0Toucher]

Haha we own you still🇺🇸😂

[@CompuBrains27]

Consider this: end fossil fuel subsidies. It would be easier for renewable to compete without those.

[@e170037]

This shows that with right policy and enough investment it is possible to develop affordable, renewable energy production. Hope similar approach will be taken for solving the global greenhouse emissions.

[@robbailey9344]

Pls @Vox do a part 2 about the battery technology to store stop at energy, and its pitfalls! Very important part of the equation that we can’t overlook

[@dankspain]

That graph showing Lazard’s LCOE shows PV at around 40$/MWh, which is probably based around utility scale in a sunny region(Spain, Australia, California etc). Latest auction in Germany for PV a few days ago had a weighted average of around 70€/MWh which is competitive with current fossil fuel prices in the region but way higher than that plot. Therefore be very careful about these estimates as they are very condition dependent.

[@jjk2one]

PFAS waste from solar panels: ‘This is something that people in the sector don’t like to talk about’

[@GodDamnitTwitch]

hey chatters from Mike stream

[@Dunrig]

Hi Chat

[@lionidargueta2293]

Donde esta MikefromPA?

[@xfsfkahrs]

US Japan Germany started competing solar power tech. Then China: "hey guys, what are you playing? Can I join?" Game Over.

[@virusgnom3251]

as a german let me add a little more information on why we were so obsessed with solar: gemany isnt the most windiest nor sunniest place. but after we decided to phase out nuclear power (after chernobyl and fukoshima) we had a problem. we needed a new source to generate carbon neutral energy if we wanted to end our dependacy on coal and gas. but because there is a LOT of push back for wind parks by the public and politicans (especially in the south), windmills arent really a possibilty. so solar (combined with water turbines) is basically our only source of renewable energy, even if it isnt really practical here.

[@TheAmericanAmerican]

Now just imagine how amazing Germany could be if they bring back their nuclear power as a backup energy system for their solar and wind sources... 😮 Sidenote: I work in the Germany solar PV industry 😉

[@Student0Toucher]

I don’t like Germany…Responsible for 2 world wars.

[@gpsfinancial6988]

@@TheAmericanAmerican Don't worry, France can send you nuclear power

[@firepod21]

No. Coal and gas is your main source of energy. Phasing out Nucleae is probably the biggest mistake Germany made in the last 10 years. It led to dependency on Russian gas (hello schroder) and huge increase of emissions. Today Germany has a higher emission factors than when it still had nuclear and less renewable. Finally, nuclear is the Safest source of electricity, and this is said by UN (usnscear). Less than 50 people dead in tchernobyl + Fukushima. I Hope Thant Germany will continue with renewable but will admit one day that they did a huge mistake that impacted whole Europe

[@theorosenberg]

Coming from a Southwest solar installer, this is awesome to see!

[@michaelbrules]

Technology Connections on his extra channel, highlighted a negative point about renewables that I never thought of. Not directly related but important point to consider as well. It was related to consumers being able to sell electricity back to the grid and how if your energy provider allows you to discount what you sell back to the grid. The grid company actually loses money as not all the cost of electricity is from generation some of it is from transmission infrastructure. By allowing people to discount what they put back in to the grid against what they consume, it weakens the grid as the grid ends up subsiding the consumers electricity bill. He does a much better job of explaining this point than I do and recommend checking it out.

[@grimaffiliations3671]

power companies can determine the rate at which they buy the energy back from you tho, couldn't they just chose a rate that allows them to make even?

[@michaelbrules]

@@grimaffiliations3671 they absolutely can and they will have to do that, to sustainably finance the grid infrastructure. But that may make consumer power generation to the grid less attractive.

[@Eagle-cy4qj]

I work in solar and it's great. I really love my job and helping customers get their systems going. A word of advice, remember it is a sales driven industry. Not all companies or salespeople are legit and honest, so do your research and read everything that you are asked to sign from start to finish. This helps customers stay informed and keeps and helps make sure you're choosing the right company.

[@Skybar23]

I studied at UNSW in Sydney but majored in Criminology. They still have an extensive program in the engineering faculty for solar energy from what I remembered and did enter the well known World Solar Challenge. Amazing what technological advances can be made when governments put aside differences and throw money at something. Sadly it only happens when something dire occurs in the world. US govt finding 1 billion reminds me of how governments around the world funded billions for a covid vaccine that was created in only a year. Hope we can do the same for battery tech and fusion energy.

[@dtmt502]

New South No Doubt

[@Skybar23]

@@dtmt502 yes new south

[@BigBang28A]

cheers to the death of big oil 🥂

[@cyrilpecoraro2764]

It doesn't lead to the end of big oil in Germany. Germany needs to use more coal + gas since they closed nuclear power plants and that they require a source when renewable can't provide energy (at night, when there is no sun or no wind). In the end, natural gas and coal consumption didn't decrease, and even increased for coal, which is the worst in terms of emissions.

[@JJs_playground]

Very clear and concise explanation.

[@BGTech1]

This is fantastic news, hopefully it becomes a larger part of energy production

[@windhunters]

Big thanks to Germany for making this happen. I’ve started solar energy company in 2005 and since then prices for solar panels went down over 90%.

[@muhammadzakariyo786]

Am I the only one who always watches vox videos because I'm learning English language and I am a student right now or are we lots of ❤

[@gonzoswunks]

Where mike? GRUG

[@christopherbouget1169]

From around 0:16-0:20 How would it cost $300,000/month to generate electricity? Maintenance?

[@bl1ndsamuraipanda]

PepeLa shadowban

[@Belgarathe]

The problem now is energy storage. Great summary of solar energy. The problem is using it when demand is high which is partially at night time

[@ChineseKiwi]

In reality, demand is relatively even throughout the day, as residential demand is replaced by industrial demand during the day and vice versa.

[@zach4741]

Test comment to see if you banned Mike fromPA

[@isaacheeks9249]

I've only ever heard of China being the place we point the finger to about developing economies still being polluters. It has never been mentioned to me once about being a pioneer in solar energy. Why is this the first I'm hearing of it.

[@EveloGrave]

Downside of solar (or anything in general) is the destruction of ecosystems caused by excavations for the minerals needed to produce the product. Solar and wind energy are good but unless mining companies are required to fix the ecological damage caused by their mines, the planet still suffers massively. Especially countries in the southern hemisphere that supply most of the minerals.

[@stygian4011]

Ever seen an open pit coal mine?

[@NuniqueNewNork]

We love you and miss you Paul Maycock. You were kind and honest. You were intelligent and loyal. A good husband and a good father. Rest in peace

[@BGTech1]

Not only have solar panels gotten cheeper, they have ago become more efficient, meaning they create more energy from the same amount of sunlight.

[@31BlazeX]

Deng Xiaoping is an underrated figure in the western world. the guy deserves more recognition

[@malekzin4788]

It’s funny that my country, Malaysia, which is next to the equator doesn’t do a lot of solar. Why does this happen? People who owns power plants in this country are connected and powerful. Can’t have their gravy train disturbed.

[@kaitlyn__L]

You see it in Australia too, all the coal mines and lucrative export contracts oppose solar, even though it's super sunny and has a lot of suitable land. Meanwhile, in countries without existing built-out power grids, solar being cheaper than infrastructure means it's showing-up everywhere. Vested interests indeed. Of course this will probably create the inverse vested interest, if anyone wants to link all their solar together and share, I imagine the business interests behind new solar sales will oppose it.

[@yolotrollo6343]

Because without subsidies solar isn't cheap or efficient at all. If you installed them on your home you would need 15 years just to break even. After that it highly questionable how much longer would they last considering they are mostly produced in China, also their efficiency drops on a yearly basis.

[@user-qwertyuiopasdfghj]

@@yolotrollo6343 you guys just can’t stop smearing Chinese products

[@nalzazlan]

Yes solar is the future. We got that done. Next should be the batteries. Soon owning a battery in one's home will be as normal as having a refrigerator.

[@ForbiddTV]

Except there isn't enough lithium, cobalt, and nickel to be mined on the planet to make that meme work. Ruinables will insure a grim future of exorbitant electricity rates, energy rationing, and massive rolling blackouts.

[@akeem2983]

I'm looking forward for sodium ion batteries development

[@will_the_warlord8913]

no mike...

[@unfixablegop]

One annoying effect of this wonderful price reduction is that utilities keep dragging their feet on solar, because the prices are expected to fall even further in the future, which depreciates the assets you commit to today. Of course that doesn't mean that the development isn't great, but it does mean that large scale positive effects get delayed into the future.

[@majidmehmood3780]

We should thank China actually

[@beyondzeroemissions]

Now wholesaling in Australia at AUD $0.19/Wp so around USD $0.127/Wp expected to drop another 22% in the next year to USD $0.10/Wp. PV panels don't need subsidies and in low cost labour markets provide super cheap power. Further cost reductions will come with efficiency increases and 22% efficient panels will climb towards 30% efficient which will see panels fall to USD 0.06/Wp by 2030 (EG same size as 440W panel today will be 600W panel in 2030).

[@hm-uq6mc]

Ah yes, the real free energy. not some weird magnet arrangement or antenna and coil configuration

[@shaunhall960]

Amazing how far we have come. I'm about to build a home that runs on solar which is incredibly affordable.

[@bl1ndsamuraipanda]

Hi mike from pa chat

[@ben_car_8115]

Bell Labs really set us up for the present and the future

[@qihaoliu3631]

Yes... it's the politicians and their policies, not the scientists and engineers that actually improved efficenies that brough down cost with solar, smh

[@grimaffiliations3671]

Scientists need money

[@unliving_ball_of_gas]

It's both. The scientists couldn't have done research and development in solar without proper funding. And the politicians couldn't have succeeded without the scientists. Politicians actually did something right for once.

[@Maxawa0851]

It was both. Sure, solar can't be cheap without scientific developments, but those cant happen with investments abd actual interest, which in turn are heavily affected by politics.

[@shadowwolfkano]

dsaRose

[@zodiacfml]

appreciate that this video did not have any lengthy intro about solar, just dense info. sadly, in our third world country with California like cost of electricity, solar is still a niche. the poor with smartphones and the rich. the poor need solar to charge phones, lighting and probably an electric fan.

[@angelr194]

The problem with solar panels is reliability: they're good, yes, but when they don't have enough power (like when it suddenly gets cloudy) another source of energy has to step up to cover the lag. We need nuclear to provide where the waterfalls aren't doing it.

[@phil2782]

My grandparents setup off grid solar at their rural retirement property in 1999. It cost something like $250,000 Their property was so rural they didn't have indoor plumbing when they initially bought the property, they were still using an outhouse. So off grid was the only viable option. Now day's, off grid is nearing the price off connecting a normal semi rural house to the grid. Maybe in another decade it will be so cheap all new houses will be off grid unless there's some serious reason the owners need a massive power drawer.

[@kacper526]

Yeah it looks amazing and all, but what about recycling them? They don't last forever and can be broken by weather for example. It looks like another clean energy like wind turbines and electric cars where people forget about what to do with disposal of those sources

[@exies341]

WHERE IS MIKE FROM PA

[@adamrc7]

dsaL

[@Clandestineclementine]

The world’s biggest solar farm is in INDIA spanning over an area of 14000 acres. Would’ve loved to hear this bit in the video. But its a great video nonetheless. Keep motivating people for clean energy.

[@lordofthepies]

I'm a little confused, did solar become cheaper from subsidies alone? Or even without the subsidy is solar more efficient than coal(not sure how to measure this, maybe kilowatts per hour?) , and the market just needed to be encouraged to switch?

[@ChineseKiwi]

it's both.

[@bighamster2]

The market needed to be encouraged to *invest*. That investment led to the development of more efficient and cheaper technologies. Now solar is simply just cheap. Same with wind power.

[@reddixiecrat]

Just cheaper with subsidies

[@BloodWoof]

Subsidise it to get it rolling bro, to the point where there is no need for subsidy anymore😊

[@CatatonicImperfect]

Think of subsidies as a temporary helping push to get things rolling until the technology matured and became economically viable.

[@phoenixnight9237]

I would like to say that we have the technology and money needed to fix our climate issues. It is beacuse of oil lobbyists(among others) that we haven't.

[@terramater]

Interesting to see one type of clean energy getting cheaper and cheaper. Our crew investigated nuclear energy, and we even went to a non active plant in Austria to find out why nuclear energy has gained a bad reputation and if it could actually be safer than we think. Some say nuclear energy is our only chance to save the planet. Our producer look for answers for the questions: What really are the benefits and risks? What would it cost to scale up nuclear energy, and how long would it take?

[@aratosm]

Actually it's debatable how clean it is considering all the heavy metals needed to produce a solar panel.

[@TesserId]

Says something about why battery technology has become so important.

[@VoidPatron]

Would love to see a breakdown of the inovations, technology, and breakthroughs that paved that trend downwards.

[@myaccount6216]

Love these videos

[@AndrejsBoka]

This is very exciting story of one of the perspective energy source in history of humanity, we can easily produce, use, and one day efficiently store it!

[@lucasfroissart7593]

Vox please stop. Your not showing the full picture here. Your videos are great but you have to stop comparing incomparable energy prices 1:07 ! Your comparing storable energies (like fossil fuels and nuclear) with fluctuating and non storable ones. To completely rule out non renewable energies from the grid, we need to be able to store solar energy. Therefore you have to count this price of storage in the graphs you show. I’ve seen you make this shortcut in all of the videos you have in renewables…😢🌿

[@ForbiddTV]

And with storage factored in, solar is more expensive than even nuclear.

[@samrusoff]

fantastic video, I learned a lot. the incentivized solar market seems a lot like tales as old as the country. the government subsidizes the big upfront costs of our ultra high scale industrial agriculture in order to make it feasible for farmers to operate and affordable to all us eaters. sustainable energy is just another product that is recognized as immensely beneficial to the public and which an upfront incentive toward adoption clearly pays off.

[@D4PPZ456]

The issue is that the price of solar is calculated in large part in relation to the expected lifespan of solar panels, but the Chinese solar panels are shockingly not lasting as long as we expected them to, which radically changes the price figures. Not sure where that puts the actual price, but the Chinese aren't sending their best.

[@chv2948]

The chinese solar industry is huge. Yes there's some bad quality stuff there but you can also get some of the best stuff the industry has to offer. It's all about how much you're willing to pay.

[@wenglish123]

Great video on how subsidise help support a market's growth. However I feel obliged to mention that the Feed-in-tariff and similar schemes in the EU were phased out in the late 2010's due to costs to the governments. Subsidise However do still exist in a similar auction based format, with the goal of stimulating competition to drive costs down quicker. A great case study for this is the drop in offshore wind. But the main message of the video, subsidise are essential, is still very valid and as shown in the case for solar NOT perpetual as detractor may imply.

[@Henning_Rech]

Feed-in tariff exists until today in Germany for typical residential new installations (means: until 2043 if installed this year).

[@dylanhecker6686]

Note how they said it's cheaper in certain locations and then show a graph without any context. I'm sure solar is good, but this is some sus journalism.

[@thewhitewolf58]

As annoying as elon is i do like how he helped tesla make the electric car a status symbol and how it pushed other car companies to compete in the electric car market.

[@Getatron]

Stories like these are super interesting to me, since they show just how little laissez-faire capitalism actually works. Serious, directed effort is what makes leaps in technology happen, and people trusting corporations to consider anything other than their profits should watch stories like these.