Energize Weekly, April 25, 2018
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new $105.5 million round of funding for solar energy research, development and grid integration projects on April 17.
DOE will fund about 70 projects to advance both solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) technologies through its Solar Energy Technologies Office.
“American ingenuity is the engine of our energy economy,” Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said in a statement. “Investing in all of our abundant energy sources, including solar technologies, will help to drive down costs and ensure that the nation leads the world in energy production and innovation.”
The funding program will focus on four main areas:
- Advanced Solar System Integration. The DOE will fund about 14 projects with $46 million to develop “seamless integration” of solar energy onto the nation’s power grid. The projects would likely emphasize technologies such as power electronics, solar plus storage and PV-integrated sensors.
- Concentrating Solar Research and Development. The program will provide up to $24 million for about 21 projects for innovative CSP concepts and technologies that would allow CSP to reach a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of 5 cents a kilowatt-hour. The levelized cost for CSP was 12 cents a kilowatt-hour in 2016, according to the DOE. Research will focus on advancing elements found in CSP subsystems, including collectors and thermal transport systems for advanced power cycles.
- Photovoltaics Research and Development. Up to 28 projects will be funded with $27 million for early-state research to improve PV cells, modules and systems. The projects will be in support of DOE’s goal of lowering the LCOE for PV to 3 cents a kilowatt-hour for utility-scale system—half the current cost of utility-scale solar, the department said.
- Improving and expanding the solar industry through works for initiatives. About $8.5 million will fund four projects that “will pursue innovative initiatives that prepare the solar industry for a digital future while also increasing the number of veterans and participants in the solar industry.”
Abigail Ross Hopper, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, in a statement called the DOE announcement “a positive step.”
“It is critically important that the United States maintain its global leadership in the development of advanced, high-performing solar technologies for both the photovoltaic and concentrating solar power industries,” Hopper said. “Prioritizing research and workforce development for the hundreds of thousands of Americans that solar employs is vital.”
