Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Acting Assistant Secretary for EERE Kelly Speakes-Backman, and SET Director Dr. Becca-Jones Albertus discussed how DOE’s solar investments will help to achieve ambitious decarbonization goals.
Solar Energy Technologies Office
March 25, 2021
minute read time
This webinar was held on March 25, 2021, at 2:30 p.m. ET and featured Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm announcing $128 million in new solar energy initiatives. Webinar topics included:
- DOE's expedited timeline for utility-scale solar cost targets: $0.03 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) by 2025 and $0.02/kWh by 2030
- Solar Energy Technologies Office Fiscal Year 2021 Photovoltaics and Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (PV and CSP) funding opportunity - $40 million for PV and CSP research and development projects
- Generation 3 CSP Final Selection - $25 million awarded to build a demonstration for a Generation 3 CSP power plant
- Perovskite Funding Program Selections - $40 million awarded to advance perovskite PV device, manufacturing, and validation projects
- Cadmium-Telluride (CdTe) PV Accelerator Program - $20 million for new consortium to advance CdTe thin-film solar cell technologies
- American-Made Perovskite Startup Prize - New $3 million prize competition to help entrepreneurs launch new businesses to accelerate commercialization of perovskite solar technologies
Guest Speakers:
- Jennifer M. Granholm, Energy Secretary
- Gina McCarthy, National Climate Advisor
- Kelly Speakes-Backman, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
- Becca Jones-Albertus, Director of the Solar Energy Technologies Office Director
- Stephan DeLuca, CEO of Energy Materials Corporation
- Joseph Berry, senior scientist, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Clifford Ho, senior scientist, Sandia National Laboratories
Webinar Recording
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm joined the Solar Energy Technologies Office for a webinar and virtual solar technology tour, where she discussed DOE’s efforts to reduce the costs of photovoltaic and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) technologies in order to achieve clean energy goals.
U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office
You can also view the Zoom recording – use Google Chrome for best viewing results. The recording password is A*U2M4&k.
Presentation Slides
Technology Tours
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories use particles to store heat in a next-generation (Gen3) concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) plant. These particles are heated by the sun, using an array of mirrors, and can reach over 1,000 degrees Celsius. This heat can be stored, generate electricity, or used in processes that require high heat, like in materials synthesis or cement making.
U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office
Energy Materials Corporation makes perovskite-base solar panels using roll-to-roll printers. Perovskites have shown remarkable progress in recent years with rapid increases in efficiency, which can match silicon-based solar cell efficiency in the lab. The U.S. Department of Energy funds photovoltaic perovskite research to address challenges relating to durability and commercialization, as well as to advance low-cost, high-speed, solar manufacturing.
U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office
Arizona State University launched a silicon photovoltaic pilot line production facility over 10 years ago, with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. This allows the university’s researchers and students to keep pace with industry advances and test how solar cells will perform in a commercial environment.
U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office