Module 1 of 10

How Solar Power Works

From sunlight to electricity: the photovoltaic effect and solar system architecture

I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.

— Thomas Edison, inventor

This module covers the following five lessons:

1

The Photovoltaic Effect

2

Inside the PV Cell

3

From Cell to Module

4

From Module to Array

5

Three Deployment Scales

Learning Objectives

Explain the photovoltaic effect and how sunlight is converted into electricity
Describe the structure and function of a PV cell, module, and array
Distinguish between the three main deployment scales of solar power
Relate the output of solar components to real-world energy uses at device, household, and system scales

This module is in development. The full lessons, interactives and quiz will appear here when the course opens.

Module 2 of 10

Solar Generation

Understanding how solar output varies throughout the day, across seasons, and between locations

Stop playing the capacity game. Start having the real discussions about how much energy is available during each hour of the year.

— Jigar Shah, founder, SunEdison

This module covers the following four lessons:

1

Power Output Over the Day

2

Weather and Clouds

3

Seasonal Variation

4

Geographic Variation and Capacity Factor

Learning Objectives

Describe the typical intraday production curve of a solar PV system and explain why the Earth's atmosphere and the sun's angle drives its bell shape
Explain how weather conditions, particularly cloud cover, affect instantaneous solar power output
Explain how orientation, tracking and bifacial modules change the shape and size of the generation curve
Distinguish between summer and winter generation profiles at higher and lower latitudes
Define capacity factor and how it is used in annual energy calculations
Use the Global Solar Atlas to compare solar resource between different geographic locations

This module is in development. The full lessons, interactives and quiz will appear here when the course opens.

Module 3 of 10

Electricity Demand

How electricity is used at the device, household, and system scales — and how it differs from solar's generation profile

The duck now looks like a canyon. The canyon is getting deeper.

— Arshad Mansoor, CEO, EPRI

This module covers the following four lessons:

1

Demand at Device Scale

2

Demand at Household Scale

3

Demand at System Scale

4

Two Responses to the Mismatch

Learning Objectives

Describe electricity demand patterns at device, household, and grid scales
Explain the timing mismatch between solar generation and electricity demand
Identify the key features of a grid demand curve, including morning and evening peaks
Articulate two intuitive responses to the generation-demand mismatch: shifting behaviour and storing energy
Understand why this mismatch is the central challenge for solar-dominated energy systems

This module is in development. The full lessons, interactives and quiz will appear here when the course opens.

Module 4 of 10

Battery Storage

Storing solar energy: from phone batteries to grid-scale storage

Electricity is the ultimate perishable commodity. If you don't use it, you have to dissipate it or you have to store it.

— Yet-Ming Chiang, co-founder, Form Energy

This module covers the following six lessons:

1

How do Batteries Work?

2

What Batteries Do

3

Power, Energy, and Duration

4

Batteries at Every Scale

5

Batteries in the System

6

Electric Vehicle Batteries

Learning Objectives

Explain what happens inside a lithium-ion battery during charge and discharge
Explain the core function of battery storage: time-shifting energy from generation to demand
Distinguish between power (MW), energy (MWh), and duration in the context of battery systems
Describe battery storage at device, household, and grid scales
Understand how batteries reduce the mismatch between solar generation and electricity demand
See how electric vehicle batteries reshape the household demand curve and unlock vehicle-to-home / vehicle-to-grid storage

This module is in development. The full lessons, interactives and quiz will appear here when the course opens.

Module 5 of 10

Costs

Why the numbers have collapsed — and why they're not going back up

In the case of solar panels, the drop in cost was about 10% per year over the last 40 years, with an overall 99% decline in costs over that period.

— Jessika Trancik, Professor, MIT

Here's what we'll cover:

1

Costs Have Plummeted

2

Solar Costs & Manufacturing

3

Battery Costs & Manufacturing

4

Lowest-Cost Electricity

5

Cost Structure & Fuel Costs

By the end of this module, you'll be able to…

Explain why solar and battery costs have fallen so far — and why they're likely to keep going.
Use LCOE (Levelised Cost of Energy) to compare generation technologies on a like-for-like basis.
Describe the learning curve and what a "24 % learning rate" really means.
Tell a capex-led technology (solar, batteries) apart from a fuel-led one (gas, coal) — and say why it matters.
Argue the case that solar is the lowest-cost variable source of electricity, and solar + batteries the lowest-cost firm source, in most regions today.

This module is in development. The full lessons, interactives and quiz will appear here when the course opens.

Module 6 of 10

Global Growth

Where solar is being built, how fast, and what's making the growth self-reinforcing

Solar is the cheapest source of bulk electricity in many countries, and the quickest to deploy, and now you couldn't stop it being built if you wanted to.

— Jenny Chase, Head of Solar Analysis, BloombergNEF

This module covers the following five lessons:

1

The Pace of Deployment

2

What Drives Solar Growth?

3

Solar Penetration and Spread

4

Installation is Key

5

Is There Enough Space?

Learning Objectives

Quantify the current scale of global solar deployment
Identify the top five solar markets and explain why each is growing
Compare solar penetration and scale mix across leading markets, and identify where growth is fastest
Explain why installation speed — not module price — now sets the pace of deployment in mature markets
Challenge the "not enough space" narrative with country-level land-use calculations

This module is in development. The full lessons, interactives and quiz will appear here when the course opens.

Module 7 of 10

Supply Chains and Manufacturing

Where the learning curve actually lives — inside the factories

China mainly dominates these markets because it has produced a long-term industrial strategy for these technologies and has honed an optimised, modern supply chain as a result.

— Hannah Ritchie, Lead Researcher, Our World in Data

This module covers the following five lessons:

1

The Solar Supply Chain

2

PV Scale and Industrialisation

3

PV Manufacturing

4

The Battery Supply Chain

5

BESS Manufacturing

Learning Objectives

Trace the solar supply chain from polysilicon to finished module and identify the cost and value at each step
Explain how Wright's Law works physically — through tangible factory improvements, not abstract magic
Explain why manufacturing concentration (>80% in China) occurred — and why it's an economic story, not just a geopolitical one
Describe the risks of single-source dependency and the early efforts to diversify
Trace the battery supply chain from raw minerals to finished pack and see why cathode chemistry is a supply-chain decision as much as a chemistry one

This module is in development. The full lessons, interactives and quiz will appear here when the course opens.

Module 8 of 10

Challenges and Solutions

Inverters and the system brain, the carbon and lifecycle case, the institutional brakes on growth, and the policy gap

The cheapest, most secure and lowest-carbon form of energy is that which we don't use.

— Dr Nick Wayth, CEO, Energy Institute

This module covers the following six lessons:

1

Power Electronics

2

Cyber Security

3

Carbon and Energy Payback

4

Circular Manufacturing

5

Constraints on Growth

6

Energy Policy

Learning Objectives

Describe what an inverter does and why it's the most critical active component in a solar system
Identify the cybersecurity and aggregation risk created by millions of internet-connected inverters
Assess the embodied carbon and energy payback of solar and battery systems
Describe end-of-life recycling and circular manufacturing for solar modules and batteries
Explain how V2G (vehicle-to-grid) creates a viable pathway to distributed storage at scale
Describe solar value deflation, why the binding constraints on growth are now institutional, and how storage and market reform address them
Name the main five policy levers and articulate what sensible policy looks like

This module is in development. The full lessons, interactives and quiz will appear here when the course opens.

Module 9 of 10

Your Role

Deploying solar at every scale — residential, community, commercial, utility

It became so obvious to me that grandpa's grid is not built for the future of energy and not built to supply what consumers increasingly need.

— Mary Powell, CEO, Sunrun

This module covers the following four lessons:

1

Solar Is Democratic

2

Residential Scale: What You Can Do

3

Community & Commercial: Where You Can Coordinate

4

Utility Scale: Why You Should Support It

Learning Objectives

Explain why solar + battery is historically unique — the first energy technology genuinely deployable by individuals as well as utilities, using the same fundamental building blocks.
Describe what a residential system looks like, how it's sized, what it costs, what it saves, and the practical decisions a homeowner faces.
Identify the community and commercial scale — villages, farms, schools, SMEs — and the models for coordinated deployment.
Explain why utility-scale projects matter even though individuals can't build them alone — and why informed support matters.

This module is in development. The full lessons, interactives and quiz will appear here when the course opens.

Module 10 of 10

A Game Changer

Where solar takes us — and what you do next

The last decade was about proving what solar can do. The next will be about ensuring it becomes the world's leading electricity source.

— Sonia Dunlop, CEO, Global Solar Council

This module covers the following six lessons:

1

What Comes Next?

2

Closing the Winter Gap

3

Energy Sovereignty

4

Myths and Realities

5

Very Cheap Energy

6

Your Next Steps

Learning Objectives

Describe why existing solar PV + lithium-ion is already transformational, and identify the next-generation technologies that extend the curve further.
Explain why continued learning-rate progress on lithium-ion will cover more of the storage duration range, leaving only the most seasonal regions dependent on alternative solutions.
Explain why solar and storage shift global energy from a contest over hydrocarbon reserves to a resource almost every populated nation already has — and what that means for sovereignty, trade, and conflict.
Describe what happens as deployment approaches 10× today's level.
Name what you do next — concrete actions at residential, community, and utility scales.

This module is in development. The full lessons, interactives and quiz will appear here when the course opens.