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Can you elaborate on what breakthrough happened there in solar? I always thought it was economies of scale and cheap labour that led to photovoltaic cells beco
by actuator 5y ago
Can you elaborate on what breakthrough happened there in solar? I always thought it was economies of scale and cheap labour that led to photovoltaic cells becoming cheap.
But I do agree that it is very efficient to prototype and scale things there because of manufacturing ingenuity and efficient supply chains.
- dv_dt 5y agoAn "economy of scale" is part technology, part educating a labor force, and part infrastructure, and it's intentional creation takes focused industrial strategy shaping long term capital allocation. Especially with non-software industries.
- bassman9000 5y agoA collection of iterated improvements that require the regulation, the local enterprises, and the workers to align in a particular way is not exportable, nor a breakthrough.
- dv_dt 5y agoYet China has the “breakthrough” lowest cost solar in the world coming from not being on the map for it twenty years earlier. Not being transferable as an export seems like a benefit for the hosting nation doesn’t it?