From solar panels to solar markets: Why business models matter

Amanda Bankel's doctoral thesis finds that low-carbon technologies like solar panels often fail to diffuse rapidly even when affordable and technologically mature because market development frictions—not the technologies themselves—are the primary constraint. The research highlights practical market, institutional and adoption-pathway barriers as key obstacles to accelerating the renewable energy transition.

Analysis

Amanda Bankel's doctoral thesis finds that low-carbon technologies like solar panels often fail to diffuse rapidly even when affordable and technologically mature because market development frictions—not the technologies themselves—are the primary constraint. The research highlights practical market, institutional and adoption-pathway barriers as key obstacles to accelerating the renewable energy transition.