U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry has announced up to $105.5 million in funding for solar energy research and development, including a substantial portion for CSP research.
Under the plan, the Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office will invest $24 million in 21 concentrating solar power projects. These projects will pursue innovative CSP concepts and technology solutions that enable the solar industry to reach DOE’s 2030 levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) targets for CSP, including $0.05 per kilowatt-hour for systems with greater than 12 hours of onsite storage.
Research in CSP will focus on advancing elements found in CSP subsystems, including collectors and thermal transport systems for advanced power cycles, while pursuing new methods for introducing innovation to CSP research.
The DOE will invest $46 million in 14 projects that deal with advanced solar-integration technologies such as: solar plus storage, power electronics, and PV-integrated sensor technologies. It will invest a further $8.5 million on improving and expanding the solar industry through workforce initiatives, and $27 million on photovoltaics research and development.
“American ingenuity is the engine of our energy economy,” said Secretary Perry. “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.”
