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Publications

Review U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Program publications, including newsletters, annual reports, fact sheets, and technical papers. Publications about the Solar America Initiative, a DOE-led effort to make solar electricity from photovoltaics (PV) cost competitive with conventional forms of electricity from the utility grid, are also available. In addition, other solar publications are accessible through publication databases.

Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

U.S. Department of Energy Publications

Renewable Energy Data Book (PDF 11 MB)

The book contains important information concerning some of the following: installed nameplate capacity, generation, and cost of energy prices. The myriad graphs and charts make it easier to identify growth trends during the last several years in both the United States and the world. One of the many useful features includes state rankings in a variety of categories.

Solar Program Publications

Annual Reports

These reports chronicle the research and development (R&D) results of the Solar Program for the fiscal year. In particular, the report describes R&D performed by the Program's national laboratories and its university and industry partners within PV R&D, Solar Thermal R&D, which encompasses solar water heating and concentrating solar power (CSP), and other subprograms.

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Brochures

  • The Promise of Solar Energy Is Boundless. A Smarter Electric Grid Delivers on That Promise. (PDF 620 KB)

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Fact Sheets

These fact sheets provide summaries of the Solar Program, its specific activities, and issues related to solar technologies.

  • Photovoltaics

    This fact sheet summarizes the Photovoltaics subprogram and its activities. (PDF 395 KB)

  • Concentrating Solar Power

    This fact sheet summarizes the Concentrating Solar Power subprogram and its activities. (PDF 361 KB)

  • Grid Integration

    This fact sheet summarizes the Grid Integration subprogram and its activities. (PDF 339 KB)

  • Market Transformation

    This fact sheet summarizes the Market Transformation subprogram and its activities. (PDF 264 KB)

  • Furthering Energy Security Fact Sheet

    This fact sheet summarizes the Solar Energy Technologies Program and its four primary activities: PV R&D, CSP R&D, market transformation, and grid integration. (PDF 640 KB)

  • Solar America Initiative Fact Sheets

    These fact sheets summarize the Solar America Initiative and specific projects, such as the role of utilities and Solar America Cities.

  • Improving Air Quality with Solar Energy

    This fact sheet highlights two examples in which solar technologies can help states meet regulatory air quality requirements. It also examines regulatory use and voluntary use of solar technologies to reduce air emissions. (PDF 287 KB)

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Newsletters

This quarterly newsletter is intended for participants and stakeholders in the DOE Solar Program and the Solar America Initiative. The content includes features on technology development, market transformation, and policy analysis for solar. Highlights include solar industry updates, DOE funding opportunity announcements and awards, national laboratory technology developments, and a solar events calendar.

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Program Overview and Highlights

This document highlights the R&D advances made in the various key technologies areas of the Solar Energy Technologies Program, including activities in PV and solar thermal technologies, at DOE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (PDF 5 MB)

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Strategic Plans

  • Multi-Year Program Plan 2008-2012

    This plan delineates what the Solar Energy Technologies Program is attempting to accomplish over the next five years, the activities it is pursuing to meet the goals, and how it will track progress. (PDF 3.2 MB)

  • Solar America Initiative Posture Plan

    This plan summarizes key elements of the Solar America Initiative. (PDF 2.1 MB)

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Technical Papers

These papers describe the objectives and scope of specific industry-led projects within the Solar Energy Technologies Program.

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Publications Databases

Office of Science and Technical Information (OSTI)

This subject portal contains full-text scientific and technical reports, links to journal literature, and other information sources on a variety of renewable energy technologies.

National Laboratory Publications

These DOE national laboratories have searchable databases to access research reports, journal articles, and other publications on solar technologies.

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