As part of the SunShot Initiative, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the selection of up to $112.5 million over five years for funding to support the development of advanced solar photovoltaic (PV)-related manufacturing processes throughout the United States. The Department’s SunShot Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships will help the solar power industry overcome technical barriers and reduce costs for PV installations, help the U.S. regain the lead in the global market for solar technologies, and provide support for clean energy jobs for years to come.
“Expanding the U.S. solar energy industry is an important part of the Administration’s goals to diversify our electricity supply and rebuild America’s manufacturing base to create jobs now and in the future,” said Secretary Chu. “The SunShot Initiative will not only keep the United States at the forefront in solar energy research and development, but will help us win the worldwide race to build a solar manufacturing industry that produces solar systems that are cost competitive with fossil fuels .”Today’s investments are part of DOE’s SunShot Initiative, which aims to reduce the total costs of photovoltaic solar energy systems by about 75 percent so that they are cost competitive at large scale with other forms of energy without subsidies by the end of the decade. Achieving this goal – equivalent to approximately $1 a watt or roughly 6 cents per kilowatt-hour for utility systems – would allow solar energy systems to be broadly deployed across the country.
The SunShot program will also fund $25 million to the Bay Area PV Consortium (BAPVC) to spur industry-relevant research and development to impact high volume PV manufacturing using a competitive selection process open to all universities. This project, managed by Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, will develop and test the innovative new materials, device structures, and fabrication processes necessary to achieve cost effective PV modules in high volume production. The research will advance technologies that bring down manufacturing costs and improve device performance characteristics to help achieve SunShot’s price targets. An industry board composed of representatives from PV companies will determine the specific topics for research and development to assure close alignment with industry and manufacturing needs.