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MIT: Innovations That Made Solar Costs Decline Over 50 Years - MIT found that 81 innovations cut solar costs by 99%—and most came from outside the solar industry. From semiconductors to metallurgy to construction and finance, unexpected allies shaped the solar boom. The same mindset could unlock a second wave of value through repowering.
Here’s something interesting I read yesterday.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that 81 innovations slashed solar costs by 99%, and most didn’t even come from the solar industry.
That’s what struck me. We often tell the story of solar as a clean energy moonshot: visionary scientists, cutting-edge labs, panels rising on rooftops and in fields. But the reality is more collaborative and more… surprising.
Semiconductor advances from the electronics world have made solar cells more efficient. Metallurgists refined how we process silicon. Glassmakers created anti-reflective coatings. Construction, finance, and software industries played a role, creating standardized permitting systems, automation tools, and leaner supply chains. Even the oil and gas industries contributed, with their drilling and materials expertise shaping wafer production, mounting systems, and thermal performance.
The cost savings came in two major buckets:
As MIT’s Jessika Trancik put it, delays cost money. When permitting, financing, and construction sped up, prices fell.
This matters now because solar’s next chapter isn’t just about new projects—it’s about what we do with the aging systems already out there. Many were built under outdated rules. Many are underperforming.
If we apply the same kind of interdisciplinary curiosity and innovation to repowering as we once did to cost reduction, we can unlock a second wave of value:
The solar story has never been linear. It’s been shaped by reinvention, by unexpected allies, and by the belief that the tools we build today can stand on the shoulders of yesterday’s breakthroughs.
The next chapter focuses on ensuring the systems we’ve built continue to deliver on their promise.
https://taiyangnews.info/technology/mit-study-on-innovations-contributing-to-solar-cost-declines
Author: Adam Zewe