The U.S Department of Energy’s (DOE) SunShot initiative, a policy aimed at making solar energy cost competitive with fossil fuels, continues to provide vital support for the solar power industry in America with a new round of funding announced to bring in the next generation of solar technology.
The DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy says it will spend $145 million on forward-looking projects 7-10 years away from commercial readiness, and scientific and technological improvements which can be rapidly implemented within 5 years.
According to U.S Energy Secretary Steven Chu, the funding will focus on six specific categories of solar innovation.
"The projects announced today under DOE’s SunShot Initiative will spur American innovation to help reduce the costs of clean, renewable solar energy and re-establish U.S. global leadership in this fast growing industry."
The project categories are:
– $42 million for Extreme Balance of System (BOS) Hardware cost-reduction technologies. These projects will seek to find cheaper materials – such as mounting racks, inverters, etc. – used in the installation of solar power systems.
– $38.5 million for Advance Solar Cell Efficiency. These projects will work on closing the gap between experimental solar cell efficiency results obtained in lab conditions and those produced in a factory setting.
– $25.9 million for Advanced Solar Energy Grid Integration. These projects will focus on improving smart-grid technology to allow for more successful integration of solar and other renewable energy sources into the main electricity grid network.
– $22.2 million for Transformational Photovotaic Science and Technology. A fund for applied research into next-generation photovoltaic technologies.
– $13.6 million for Non-Hardware Balance of System cost-reduction strategies. These projects will aim to streamline zoning laws, building codes and other market barriers to solar power installation, along with developing software design tools and databases that can be used by local jurisdictions and installers.
– $5.8 million for SunShot Incubator. These projects foster development of solar technologies from the lab to commercial realisation. An expansion of DOE’s successful PV Technology Incubator Program, launched in 2007.
