Solar Cost Collapse (Swanson's Law)
Solar becomes cheaper than coal.
Explore this event on the interactive timeline →Swanson's Law is the observation that the price of solar photovoltaic modules drops about 20% for every doubling of cumulative shipped volume.
Key Numbers
- Cost Trend
- -20% per doubling
- Grid Status
- Cheaper than fossil fuels
Verified Facts
- Throughout the 2010s, massive scaling in Chinese manufacturing caused the price of solar panels to plummet exponentially.
- Solar went from a niche aerospace technology to the absolute cheapest source of electricity in human history in many parts of the world, triggering global terawatt-scale deployments.