The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Program does not commercialize technologies or sell them in the marketplace—that is the private sector's responsibility. However, we do actively encourage the deployment of solar energy technologies. Moving these technologies on to U.S. consumers creates the best possible return on the investment of federal research dollars. This happens by partnering with industry and with other government organizations within the states, other parts of the federal government, and sister programs within DOE. A few examples of these deployment-related activities are given below:
- Solar America Initiative
- Million Solar Roofs Initiative—the Conclusion
- Leading by Example
- Solar Heating and Utilities
Solar America Initiative
Goals
The goal of President Bush's Solar America Initiative is to achieve cost-competitiveness for solar technologies across all market sectors by 2015. DOE is working to accomplish this goal through public-private partnerships with industry, universities, national laboratories, state municipalities, and/or nongovernmental organizations. When federal solar energy research began in the 1970s, in response to rising oil prices, the cost of electricity from solar resources was about $2.00 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Technological advances during the last two decades have reduced solar electricity costs by more than 90 percent, opening up new markets for solar energy.
Benefits to the Nation
When the Solar America Initiative reaches its full potential in 2015, photovoltaic (PV) technologies could:
- Provide at least 5 gigawatts of electric capacity (equivalent to the amount of electricity needed to power 1.25 million homes)
- Avoid 7 million metric tons per year of CO2 emissions
- Employ 10,000 new workers
The Solar America Initiative benefits the U.S. economy even sooner than 2015 — with partner companies achieving as much as a tenfold increase in production at 30% lower costs by 2010.
Through these results, the Solar America Initiative will enhance U.S. energy security and improve the environment by:
- Diversifying electricity sources
- Displacing the costs of new electricity transmission infrastructure
- Utilizing safe and abundant U.S. solar resources
- Providing a clean source of electricity
Million Solar Roofs Initiative—the Conclusion
The Million Solar Roofs (MSR) Initiative was created by the Solar Energy Technologies Program and laid the foundation for the Market Transformation activities of the Solar America Initiative. The goal of the MSR Initiative was to transform markets for distributed solar technologies by facilitating the installation of solar systems.
The solar carport at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico was built by Diversified Systems Manufacturing, an MSR partner.
The MSR Initiative concluded in 2006 and transitioned to the Solar America Initiative. An important part of MSR's legacy is the 971 partners nationwide that constitute advocates who are schooled in the technologies and knowledgeable about their local and regional markets. Between 1997 and 2005, 94 coalitions across the country signed on with the DOE as official MSR partnerships. These partnerships comprised 971 private sector firms, electric utilities, builder-developers, nonprofit organizations, and governmental entities-all voluntarily committed to facilitate the installation of a specified number of "solar roofs." This fundamental metric, embedded in the program name, gave the program an outcome-oriented focus.
Key areas where MSR made significant contributions were in addressing barriers to commercialization and developing best practices for market transformation.
The national network of local partnerships imbued the program with a grassroots nature and exemplified successful public-private collaboration. DOE invested 68% of its program funding in competitively awarded grants to these partnerships, which focused on reducing barriers to technology acceptance and on expanding the market for solar technologies.
The remaining funds supported the participation of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, technical experts, and national laboratories in the core program team, providing expert underpinnings for the program, as well as a built-in feedback mechanism from the marketplace to the research community and solar industry.
When the program concluded, the federal government's investment of $16 million had leveraged roughly $7.1 million in cash. It also leveraged in-kind resources and incentive programs throughout the country. This synergy has contributed to the following outcomes:
- Installation of the equivalent of more than 377,000 solar water heating, photovoltaics (PV), and solar pool heating systems
- Installation of 200 megawatts (MW) of grid-connected PV capacity and 200 MW of solar water heating capacity
- Dramatic growth in PV technology acceptance, from 8% of solar installations in 1997 to 41% in 2005
- Economic and environmental benefits that resulted from grid-connected PV installed between 1997 and 2005 including:
- Health benefit savings of $90 million
- Decreased CO2 emissions of 3.3 million tons
- Cumulative GNP increase of $1.6 to $2.6 billion, depending on installed cost (range of $8-$10/Watt)
- Increase in job-years of 23,000 to 31,000
- MSR conducted more than 26 peer exchange workshops, attended by more than 650 people. More than 79% of MSR's partners attended at least one workshop. Between 2003 and 2005 some 910 people participated in 10 interactive telephone seminars
To learn more about the activities completed under the Million Solar Roofs Initiative, please see the Million Solar Roofs Initiative Final Report (PDF 3.8 KB). Download Adobe Reader
Leading by Example
Installed in 1998 under a partnership of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and Industrial Solar Technology, this solar water heating system in Arizona preheats 50,000 gallons of water daily for use by more than 1,500 inmates and staff. Performance data indicate that the system saves about $6,000 in electricity costs per month.
With 500,000 buildings, the federal sector represents about 0.5% of the entire U.S. building inventory. Each year, U.S. taxpayers spend more than $3 billion to heat, cool, light, and power those buildings. During the past 20 years, that energy bill has been reduced through investing in energy efficiency and applying renewable energy (including solar) systems on new and existing federal buildings. The federal government is committed to installing solar electric and solar thermal energy systems on 20,000 federal buildings by 2010. In fact, a preliminary commitment of installing 2,000 systems on federal buildings by the year 2000 was met and exceeded.
Youth Will Be Served
The core discipline of the Solar Program is research, pure and simple. That is why we are here and are doing what we do. But the fruits of that research must move beyond the lab if they are to have any value. And what better way to do that than to inspire the youth of America to get excited about solar energy and plant the seed that it will be part of their future?
With that in mind, the Solar Program shares in the sponsorship of two solar energy events for college students—events that test their ingenuity and ability to commit to a challenging project and see it through. These are the Solar Decathlon competition and the American Solar Challenge. The student competitors see this as an amazing opportunity, because they get to work closely with professionals from the national laboratories, universities, and the solar industry. The "pros" are right by their sides, helping to solve problems and give all the competitors their best shots.
Germany's Technische Universitat Darmstadt won first place in the 2007 Solar Decathlon. The building's louvers on the East-, South-, and West facades are equipped with Schott amorphous silicon photovoltaic cells, creating an extra area for PV. To increase solar efficiency, the louvers move with the sun.
Solar Decathlon
Twenty teams of U.S. and international college students and hundreds of thousands of interested visitors gathered at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for Solar Decathlon 2007, which concluded on October 20. This was the third Decathlon, with the first two held in 2002 and 2005.
For the Solar Decathlon, the student teams need to design, construct, and operate a home that relies only on solar power for all energy needs. While the home needs to be efficient, students are also charged with the responsibility of making their homes as attractive and livable as possible. The student teams proved successful in showcasing and demonstrating one of the Decathlon's prime objectives: to demonstrate that market-ready technologies exist that can meet the energy requirements of our daily activities by tapping into the sun's power. The Solar Decathlon is definitely a challenge for students as they invest long hours and continuous physical and mental labor to ready their homes and present them to the public, but their successes and accomplishments outweighed the hard work. These students proved their potential as future leaders in solar and renewable energy fields.
Plans for the next Solar Decathlon are already under way, and the event is scheduled to return to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the fall of 2009.
Please visit the Solar Decathlon's official Website for more information and photos of the event.
American Solar Challenge
Kansas State University follows Route 66 through the Mojave Desert in California during the American Solar Challenge. Twenty university teams from across the U.S. and Canada competed in the 2,300-mile cross-country race to design, build and race solar-powered vehicles. (Credit: American Solar Challenge)
On July 13, 2003, 20 teams of college students began racing their solar-powered cars across 2,300 miles of historic Route 66, from Chicago, Illinois, to Claremont, California. With students behind the wheels, the high-tech and high-efficiency solar cars crossed the Great Plains, climbed the Rocky Mountains, darted over the great American desert, and dashed across the finish line in Southern California. After months of designing and building these cars, the students were ready for the racing challenge. All of this was part of the American Solar Challenge.
Why is the race important? First, it inspires young people to pursue careers in science and engineering, and we will need many more scientists and engineers if this country is to remain competitive. Second, with each race, we make improvements in the cars, and some of those improvements make their way into solar and electric motors and cars as these young engineers go on to jobs. Finally, solar car racing helps demonstrate to the public that solar power is a viable option today to produce clean energy that can help reduce our use of energy derived from fossil fuels, an important step in enhancing our national security and protecting our environment. Teams are now preparing for the 2005 American Solar Challenge.
Solar Heating and Utilities
The Utility Solar Water Heating Initiative (USH2O) is a coalition of utilities and the solar thermal industry that focuses on implementing cost-effective, reliable solar solutions for renewable portfolio standards and green pricing programs. The USH2O initiative provides services and support to help interested utilities learn about existing programs and develop their own efforts.
In January 2007, the Solar Energy Technologies Program sponsored the Solar Hot Water Market Expansion Workshop to find out the status of the solar water heating industry. More details about the workshop, including action items and presentations, are available on the Utility Solar Water Heating Initiative Web site.