Energy Department Announces Up to $107 Million for Innovative Projects and Funding to Develop Solar Technologies

The Energy Department announced up to $107 million in new projects and planned funding with the aim to maintain America's leadership in clean energy innovation in solar technology.

Alongside the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE) SunShot Initiative, the Department will fund 40 different projects with a total of $42 million to improve PV reliability, performance and manufacturability—assisting in greater market penetration for solar technologies.

One of SunShot's goals is to lower the cost of utility-scale solar electricity to $0.06 per kilowatt-hour without incentives by 2020. The projects and new funding are estimated to reach costs well below that line, furthering the Obama Administration's commitment to advancing solar technology as a resource for green energy in America's low-carbon economy.

"Since 2008, the commitments made by the Department of Energy have contributed to solar PV's deployment growing 30-fold and overall costs falling more than 60%," says Under Secretary for Science and Energy Franklin Orr. "Continuing to invest in solar technologies will help to drive down costs even further for American consumers and ensure that the U.S. maintains global leadership in this century's clean energy economy."