Photovoltaics

National Labs Improving Photovoltaic Technology

SETO projects at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are working to develop solutions that will reduce the cost of solar panels.

The Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) supports the early-stage research and development of photovoltaic (PV) technologies that improve efficiency and reliability, lower manufacturing costs, and drive down the cost of solar electricity. The program funds innovative concepts and experimental designs across a range of materials that have the potential to make solar energy among the least expensive forms of energy available by reaching a levelized cost of energy of $0.03 per kilowatt-hour.

SETO advances PV efforts through two competitive funding mechanisms:

SunShot National Laboratory Multiyear Partnership (SuNLaMP)
Funding Opportunity Announcements that award projects to researchers at universities, private companies, and national laboratories

Learn more about the PV R&D program and funding priorities, read a paper on PV technology pathways, and read the results from a request for information about photovoltaic research and development priorities.

The PV Fleet Performance Data Initiative brings together national lab researchers and PV plant owners and operators to provide an aggregate benchmark for the performance of the U.S. solar fleet and performance assessment of individual solar assets using state-of-the-art methods to analyze photovoltaic plant output.

View the photovoltaics fact sheet (PDF).