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The U.S. DoE intends to cut solar energy cost by up to 60% within the next decade.
- The DOE has set a target to cut current cost from 4.6 cents/kWh to 2 cents/kWh by 2030.
- The department’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) will provide $128 million in R&D funding to help achieve this.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) intends to cut solar energy cost by up to 60% within the next decade. The Department has also announced that it will provide about $128 million in funding to help lower costs, improve performance, and accelerate solar energy deployment.
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The Secretary of Energy, Jennifer M. Granholm, noted that solar energy has already become cheaper than fossil fuels, including coal in many parts of the country. She added that “with more innovation, we can cut the cost again by more than half within the decade.”
The DOE has set a new target of cutting the current cost from 4.6 cents/kWh to 3 cents/kWh by 2025 and 2 cents/kWh by 2030. The DOE estimates that solar PV could provide between 30 per cent to 50 per cent of the total electricity supply by 2035.
The $128 million funding will be provided via the department’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and aims to accelerate development in solar panel technologies, including in perovskites and cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin films.
Some of the awards include:
- $40 million to 22 projects for the advancement of perovskite PV device, performance and manufacturing research and development.
- $3 million Perovskite Startup Prize to enable entrepreneurs to scale up and commercialise perovskite technologies.
- $20 million for research on how to advance less expensive CdTe thin-film solar technologies.
- $33 million for the improvement of CSP plants’ reliability and performance.
- $25 million for the development of a next-generation CSP power plant demonstration facility.
It is expected that these activities will enable the DOE to achieve its 2030 cost target of 5 cents/kWh for CSP plants.