Energy Seminar – HT25 Week 8: The astonishing rise of solar PV
Dr Chris Jardine
- Start  Tuesday 11 Mar 2025 5:00pm
- Finish Tuesday 11 Mar 2025 6:15pm
- Venue School of Geography & the Environment
- Postcode OX1 3AN
- Download event slides - PDF (77.40 MB)
- Watch seminar recording (external site)
THIS IS AN IN PERSON AND ONLINE EVENT
Summary: 25 years ago, solar PV was a hugely expensive, niche energy technology. Today, it’s one of the cheapest means of generating electricity worldwide and we’re installing Gigawatts every single day. It’s easy to take this for granted, perhaps – so here’s a light-hearted review of how it all happened.
Speaker: Chris joined the Environmental Change Institute in 2000, to work on a novel technical project – do solar panels even work in the UK? We proved they did, and then the question became ‘how do we make them mainstream? Chris’s career covers everything from technology to consumer attitudes, economics and policy, and from academia to years spent as Director of a solar installation company.
Future events
Book talk – Roadkill : Unveiling The True Cost Of Our Toxic Relationship With Cars
Thursday 30 Oct 2025
The energy transition: too little/too late or a new hope?
Wednesday 05 Nov 2025
Energy Seminar – MT25 Week 5: Innovations for zero-carbon heating and cooling: the path to net-zero buildings by 2050
Tuesday 11 Nov 2025
Energy Seminar – MT25 Week 6: Exploring Digitalisation’s Footprint
Tuesday 18 Nov 2025
Climate Breakdown and Political Division: Navigating Polarisation with George Monbiot
View all events
Friday 21 Nov 2025

