The U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, working in collaboration with the solar industry, will dramatically decrease the cost of electricity from solar energy. The goal is to achieve price parity between solar electricity and fossil-based electricity by the end of the decade, without additional subsidies. Reaching this goal will re-establish American technological leadership, improve the nation’s energy security, and strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness in the global clean energy race.

The SunShot Initiative builds on the legacy of President Kennedy’s 1960s “moon shot” goal, which laid out a plan to regain the country’s lead in the space race and land a man on the moon. Similarly, the SunShot goal aims to restore America’s once-dominant position in the global market for solar photovoltaics (PV), which has dwindled from 43 percent in 1995 to only six percent today. To achieve the SunShot goal of reducing the total installed cost of solar electricity by about 75 percent, DOE will be working closely with partners in government, industry, research laboratories and academic institutions across the country. DOE estimates that if the installed costs for solar energy systems drop to $1 per watt — equivalent to a levelized cost of electricity of 5-6 cents per kilowatt hour — solar without subsidies would be competitive with the wholesale rate of electricity nearly everywhere in the U.S. These reductions in cost will lead to a dramatic increase in the market demand for solar energy technologies, enabling new domestic manufacturing.

A PERSPECTIVE

The SunShot initiative will continue to accelerate and advance the Department’s existing research efforts by refocusing the Department’s solar energy programs — valued at approximately $200 million per year — to support a targeted roadmap to meet the SunShot goal by the end of the decade. The program will emphasize collaboration between DOE offices, including: the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which focuses on deployment and applied research and development; the Office of Science, which advances early-stage scientific discoveries; and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which is investing in a range of transformative energy technologies and has related ongoing work on power electronics.

Historically, solar investments have focused on achieving incremental efficiency improvements to solar cells and arrays. SunShot takes a different approach. In addition to investing in improvements in cell technologies and manufacturing, the SunShot initiative will also focus on steps to reduce installation and permitting costs, which are significant contributors to the total installed system price of solar electricity. This includes efforts to streamline and digitize local permitting processes and to develop codes and standards that ensure high-performance over the approximately 20 year lifetime of residential solar products.

GREEN WEBINARS

Sony Electronics and Sony Pictures Entertainment in the U.S., under the umbrella of Sony Corporation of America, announced  that they have come together to purchase more than 143 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually for 2011, which is enough green power to meet an estimated 49 percent of these entities’ electricity use.  As a result of this purchase, Sony Corporation of America ranks No. 27 on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National Top 50 list of the largest green power purchasers.

Sony is purchasing Green-e verified renewable energy certificates (RECs) through Renewable Choice Energy and 3Degrees. Additionally, Sony is using its own on-site solar installations, which produce more than 600,000 kWh/year. These activities demonstrate a proactive choice to switch away from traditional sources of electricity generation and support cleaner renewable energy alternatives.
Earlier this week, EPA updated each of its National Top Partner lists, highlighting some of America’s largest green power purchasers. Each list highlights EPA Green Power Partners that have contracted the largest annual voluntary purchases as of January 5, 2011. EPA updates its Top Partner Lists quarterly at www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists. Green power is electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro.

According to EPA, Sony’s green power purchase of more than 143 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of nearly 20,000 passenger vehicles per year, or the CO2 emissions from the electricity use of nearly 13,000 average American homes annually.  This purchase also qualifies the Company for EPA’s Green Power Leadership Club, a distinction given to organizations that have significantly exceeded EPA’s minimum purchase requirements. Green Power Leadership Club members must purchase ten times the partnership’s minimum requirement organization-wide. Sony’s recent green power purchase and on-site solar generation initiatives are part of its ongoing support of renewable energy and its commitment to reducing its environmental impact globally under its “Road to Zero” environmental plan, through which the Company aims to achieve a zero environmental footprint by 2050.

EXPLAINING CLIMATE CHANGE