Solar power has become big business, with $131 billion invested in 2018, up from just $11.2 billion in 2004 but down from $171 billion in 2017 as unit costs fell. New installed capacity grew from 1.1GW in 2004 to about 107GW in 2018, a steady rise as solar begins to compete with fossil fuels on cost and to be built in nearly every country.
This is a book for the solar workers of the future, a business book for those without a business or economics background and those simply curious about major shifts happening in the world energy economy. Key financial, economic and technical concepts are interspersed with the history of the first decade of cheap solar power, and the author's experience of being part of a successful startup in the clean energy sector.
Contents: IntroductionSolar Technologies — An IntroductionStart UpsStartups: A Case Study (BloombergNEF)Timeline of Relevant Milestones for Solar2005–2008: The First Big Solar, Supply ConstraintsThe Magic of the Experience CurveSeptember 29, 2008: When the Solar Boom went BustForecasting Methods: Difficulties and DiscontinuitiesHow Markets Set Power PricesNetworking and Other Stuff Not Taught at State SchoolsSolar After the 2008 Crash: Finding a New NormalSolar Failures 2009–2013 — Case StudiesProject Finance and Calculating the Cost of Energy2014 and 2015: Solar Auctions, Auto-consumption and Sun Taxes2016 to 2018: Solar is Cheap, but What does it Mean?Technology Focus: Solar Thermal Electricity GenerationTechnology Focus: PhotovoltaicsOperating Solar Plants, and How Big Data Can HelpTrade WarsWill Offgrid Solar Leapfrog in the Developing World?Can Solar Save the World?The Challenges of Intermittency, and Possible SolutionsWhat Next for Solar?Acknowledgements
Readership: A business book written for people with an interest in energy, who do not necessarily have a finance or economics background; energy professionals, people considering a career in energy and those who simply want to be informed about major shifts happening in the world economy; general public. Climate Change;Energy Economics;Solar Power;Renewable Resources;Sustainable Technology;Finance00
