DOE awards over $145 million for future solar tech

• 12 years ago (2011-09-07)
• David Flin

North America 1004 Renewables 757

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The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the award of over $145 million to 69 projects in 49 states aimed at increasing efficiency, reducing costs and shaping the future of solar energy technologies. This is in addition to the $170 million awarded in April 2011.

The funds were awarded under the DOE’s SunShot Initiative, a federally-funded programme to help solar power achieve grid parity by the end of the decade.

Awards were given in six categories:

Extreme balance of system hardware cost reductions: $42 million over 9 projects.

Foundational programme to advance cell efficiency: $35.8 million over 18 projects.

Advanced concepts for solar energy grid integration systems: $25.9 million over 8 projects.

Transformational Next Generation photovoltaics science and technology: $22.2 million over 23 projects.

Reducing market barriers and non-hardware balance of system costs: $13.6 million over 7 projects.

SunShot incubator: $5.8 million over 4 projects.

The funds have largely gone to California (15 projects for a total of nearly $37 million) and Colorado (10 projects for a total of nearly $18 million), many involving the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado.