TY - JOUR
T1 - Solar photovoltaics is ready to power a sustainable future
AU - Victoria, Marta
AU - Haegel, Nancy
AU - Peters, Ian Marius
AU - Sinton, Ron
AU - Jäger-Waldau, Arnulf
AU - del Cañizo, Carlos
AU - Breyer, Christian
AU - Stocks, Matthew
AU - Smets, Arno
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Thanks to fast learning and sustained growth, solar photovoltaics (PV) is today a highly cost-competitive technology, ready to contribute substantially to CO2 emissions mitigation. However, many scenarios assessing global decarbonization pathways, either based on integrated assessment models or partial-equilibrium models, fail to identify the key role that this technology could play, including far lower future PV capacity than that projected by the PV community. In this perspective, we review the factors that lie behind the historical cost reductions of solar PV and identify innovations in the pipeline that could contribute to maintaining a high learning rate. We also aim at opening a constructive discussion among PV experts, modelers, and policymakers regarding how to improve the representation of this technology in the models and how to ensure that manufacturing and installation of solar PV- can ramp up on time, which will be crucial to remain in a decarbonization path compatible with the Paris Agreement.
AB - Thanks to fast learning and sustained growth, solar photovoltaics (PV) is today a highly cost-competitive technology, ready to contribute substantially to CO2 emissions mitigation. However, many scenarios assessing global decarbonization pathways, either based on integrated assessment models or partial-equilibrium models, fail to identify the key role that this technology could play, including far lower future PV capacity than that projected by the PV community. In this perspective, we review the factors that lie behind the historical cost reductions of solar PV and identify innovations in the pipeline that could contribute to maintaining a high learning rate. We also aim at opening a constructive discussion among PV experts, modelers, and policymakers regarding how to improve the representation of this technology in the models and how to ensure that manufacturing and installation of solar PV- can ramp up on time, which will be crucial to remain in a decarbonization path compatible with the Paris Agreement.
KW - costs
KW - grid integration
KW - integrated assessment model
KW - land use
KW - learning curve
KW - materials availability
KW - partial-equilibrium model
KW - photovoltaics
KW - sector coupling
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85103706023&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.joule.2021.03.005
DO - 10.1016/j.joule.2021.03.005
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85103706023
SN - 2542-4351
VL - 5
SP - 1041
EP - 1056
JO - Joule
JF - Joule
IS - 5
ER -
