Ultra-cheap solar energy: an enabler of “secondary decarbonization”

The continued decline in solar energy prices to below-market levels has made it an enabling technology for energy-intensive "secondary decarbonization" efforts, such as carbon capture and hydrogen production, for which energy prices play an outsized role in their overall economic viability. In this study we implement a techno-economic model to evaluate the impact of falling solar energy costs, both for electricity and heat, on the overall economics of both hydrogen electrolysis and industrial carbon capture, to illustrate how falling solar energy prices can enable the expansion of these technologies. We additionally consider some of the operational challenges involved in the collection and transmission of solar heat, and note the areas in which the emergence of nonimaging collectors as an alternative solar thermal technology with wide applicability has the potential to alleviate some of these challenges.