Breakthrough Dialogues

When it comes to innovative technologies, which comes first: deployment, or the ability to financially compete? Jigar Shah – a seasoned podcast host himself and founder of clean energy financing company Generate Capital – is a firm believer in the former. He argues that technologies just don’t get cheaper when they stay outside the market. To ensure their ability to reach economies of scale, they must operate in the real world. We’ve seen that happen with solar energy, which moved from 15 cents per kWh to, in some cases, one cent. But is there such a thing as too cheap? What incentivizes peak performance? And how does COVID-induced fallen energy demand change the path toward decarbonization?