The price-performance charts document averaged development results from subsequent technological S-curves, documented by Genrich Altschuller, inventor of TRIZ (short article, [Gadd2011]). At the begin high investment does not result in direct effect. The slope in the beginning is slowly rising because of poor technological understanding, lacking research results and high recalcitrance. More funding might start alternative S-curves. But these new developing technologies are still in their infancy and give no immediate results.
Recalcitrance in renewable energy harvesting technology is obviously high and long lasting. It is easy to harvest a little bit, but increasing efficiency and quantity was and is complex. Therefore the curves you documented are dominantly linear.
Recalcitrance in genome sequencing was different. Different technological options to do the sequencing were at hand when human genome project boosted funding. Furthermore S-curves followed each other in shorter intervals. The result is your expected funding effect:
Historic cost of sequencing a human genome, license Ben Moore CC BY-SA 3.0
The price-performance charts document averaged development results from subsequent technological S-curves, documented by Genrich Altschuller, inventor of TRIZ (short article, [Gadd2011]). At the begin high investment does not result in direct effect. The slope in the beginning is slowly rising because of poor technological understanding, lacking research results and high recalcitrance. More funding might start alternative S-curves. But these new developing technologies are still in their infancy and give no immediate results.
Recalcitrance in renewable energy harvesting technology is obviously high and long lasting. It is easy to harvest a little bit, but increasing efficiency and quantity was and is complex. Therefore the curves you documented are dominantly linear.
Recalcitrance in genome sequencing was different. Different technological options to do the sequencing were at hand when human genome project boosted funding. Furthermore S-curves followed each other in shorter intervals. The result is your expected funding effect:
Historic cost of sequencing a human genome, license Ben Moore CC BY-SA 3.0