The U.S. Department of Energy aims to make electricity from the sun cheaper than that from burning coal or natural gas.
Silicon translates sunshine into electricity—and Earth receives enough sunshine in a daylight hour to supply all of humanity’s energy needs for a year. But despite being as common as sand, photovoltaic panels made from silicon—or any of a host of other semiconducting materials—are not cheap, especially when compared with the cost of electricity produced by burning coal or natural gas. The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) aims to change that by bringing down the cost of solar electricity via a new program dubbed “SunShot,” an homage to President John Kennedy’s “moon shot” pledge in 1961.
“If you can get solar electricity down at [$1 per watt], and it scales without subsidies, gosh, I think that’s pretty good for the climate,” notes Arun Majumdar, director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA–e), the DoE’s high-risk research effort. “With SunShot, the goal is to reduce the cost of solar to [$1 per watt] in the next six years.”
As it stands, melting silicon or depositing thin layers of copper indium gallium selenide, then manufacturing photovoltaic modules and installing them on rooftops or in large arrays in the desert, can cost as much as $10 per watt. And whereas some technologies can deliver modules for roughly $1 per watt, installation at least doubles that.
“We are making solar for the masses…to get to [a] cost point that is viable,” said Bruce Sohn, president of Columbus, Ohio–based First Solar, the world’s largest thin-film photovoltaic manufacturer, which claims it can produce its modules for less than $1 per watt, on a panel at ARPA–e’s second annual summit on March 1. “We are looking to make something that can compete head to head with fossil fuels over the long term.”
As part of the new SunShot initiative, DoE committed some $27 million to fund novel methods for producing solar cells and their components—like 1366 Technology’s effort to grow pure silicon wafers directly rather than hewing them from long ingots of the material or Solexant‘s effort to build thin-film solar cells from semiconducting materials that are neither toxic nor rare. The goal is to produce solar modules at roughly 50 cents per watt with attendant hardware and installation costing the same amount. To reach that target the photovoltaic cells will have to convert at least 20 percent of the sunlight that shines on it into electricity and cost only 25 cents per watt by 2017. “The future of the U.S. depends on three securities: national, economic and environmental. The foundation of all of this is innovations in energy technology,” Majumdar said in his own speech to the summit. “The future is still up for grabs. How do we win the future? Invent affordable clean technology. Make them locally, sell them globally.”
Find out more about what happened to these projects as of July, 2019
The Latest on: Solar energy
via Google News
The Latest on: Solar energy
- Customers left high and dry by Solar Wolf Energy urged to contact AG's officeon May 14, 2022 at 1:30 am
In 2019, Yarmouth was selected to participate in the state's Solarize Mass Program operated by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. The Town received grant funding to promote residential solar ...
- Mass Megawatts Receives an Unexpected Demand for Solar Energy with High Fossil Fuel Coston May 13, 2022 at 4:12 am
Mass Megawatts Wind Power, Inc. (OTC Pink: MMMW) announces a higher demand for solar energy including its solar tracker due to the higher rate of return for customers when comparing solar with their ...
- A breakthrough method uses solar energy to produce green hydrogen from wateron May 13, 2022 at 1:28 am
Scientists have proposed a solar energy-driven photocatalytic method to split water. This method uses iridium as a metal catalyst and is believed to be capable of producing green and clean hydrogen ...
- Mass. residents vent concerns about unresponsive solar energy companyon May 12, 2022 at 7:50 pm
The solar customers say the company, which was recommended by the town, has taken their cash and ghosted them without finishing the work.
- Nashville near back of the nationwide pack when it comes to solar energyon May 12, 2022 at 6:57 pm
With how fast this area is growing, Nashville tops the list in a lot of nationwide rankings. But a new report from Environment America said when it comes to solar power — something that's all the rage ...
- Going Solaron May 12, 2022 at 2:19 pm
Fossil fuels are convenient — for now. Compare solar energy and fossil fuel costs, efficiency, availability and more. Plus, learn about the benefits. Ready to go solar? Learn about solar energy ...
- County solar study committee preps to tackle issues of big green energy and rural land useon May 12, 2022 at 3:28 am
The solar study committee of the local Plan Commission is operating. The panel meets monthly and is expected to rework the county solar ordinance.
- Tens of thousands of acres needed for solar fields to meet Consumers Energy climate goalson May 11, 2022 at 6:00 pm
Consumers Energy officials are looking for suitable land to build out nearly 8,000 megawatts of solar generation to meet the company’s own 2040 climate targets. The utility put solar energy at the ...
- New Solar Panels Set Up 24/7 Energy Haulon May 11, 2022 at 6:20 am
Net metering is a billing mechanism for electricity that allows solar panels to send excess energy back to the grid. This surplus gets credited to the owner, and those credits can apply to any future ...
- Consumers Energy looking for land to expand solar capacityon May 10, 2022 at 9:32 am
JACKSON — Consumers Energy has announced it's looking for landowners and communities to partner on solar power plants. It’s one of the key focal points of the utility company’s Clean Energy Plan, ...
via Bing News