SunShot Grand Challenge
Participants gather for the plenary session at the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit and Technology Forum in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: Wed, 06/13/2012 - 07:10
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SunShot Grand Challenge
Participants gather for the plenary session at the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit and Technology Forum in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 07:10
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Arun Majumdar, Founding Director, ARPA-E
Arun Majumdar, Founding Director, ARPA-E gives the welcoming remarks. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 07:16
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Energy Secretary Steven Chu at SunShot Grand Challenge
Energy Secretary Steven Chu gives the keynote address at the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 07:32
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SunShot Q&A
Tom Tansy from Solar Tech, asks a question after the keynote address at the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 08:04
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SunShot Q&A
Amir Faghri asks a question to Energy Secretary Steven Chu at the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 08:09
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SunShot Presentation
The audience listens to a presentation by Dorothy Robyn, Deputy Under Secretary of defense for Installations and Environment at the plenary session of the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit and Technology Forum in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 08:55
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SunShot Solar Cell
The audience listens to a presentation by Harry Atwater, Howard Hughes Professor during the plenary session of the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit and Technology Forum in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 09:16
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SunShot Summit Attendees
Participants talk outside the plenary session at the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit and Technology Forum in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 09:24
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SunShot Bright Source Energy
John Woolard, President and CEO of Bright Source Energy speaks at the plenary session of the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 09:51
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SunShot Bright Source Presentation
John Woolard, President and CEO of Bright Source Energy speaks at the plenary session of the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 10:00
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SunShot Global Competitiveness Panel
Members of the Global Competitiveness Panel speak at the plenary session of the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 10:27
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SunShot Panel
Members of the Global Competitiveness Panel speak at the plenary session of the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 10:28
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SunShot Summit
Students from Front Range Community College work on an instruction exhibit at the Technology Forum at the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 10:35
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SunShot Tech
Julie Sitch, right, shows her product to Katherine Crowley, left at the Technology Forum at the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 10:36
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120613_SunShot
Students from Front Range Community College put on harnesses at an instruction exhibit at the Technology Forum at the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 10:40
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SunShot Soft Costs
Wade Crowfoot speaks at the Soft Costs break out session at the Technology Forum at the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 12:41
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SunShot Break Out Session
Panelists speak at the Soft Costs break out session at the Technology Forum at the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 12:47
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SunShot Sara Kurtz
NREL researcher Sara Kurtz speaks at the Concentrating Solar Power break out session. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 12:55
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SunShot PV
Gang Chen speaks at the PV break out session. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 13:04
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SunShot
Participants talk outside the plenary session. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 14:54
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SunShot Poster Session
Researchers participate in a poster session at the Technology Forum at the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 15:16
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SunShot Tour
Energy Secretary Steven Chu meets with students from Front Range Community College at an instruction exhibit. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 15:50
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SunShot Tech Tour
Energy Secretary Steven Chu looks at new technology with exhibitor Joe Sarubbi, seated. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 15:52
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SunShot Suspension Heliostat
Energy Secretary Steven Chu is reflected in a Suspension Heliostat made by Solaflect Energy. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 15:58
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SunShot NREL
Energy Secretary Steven Chu talks with Martha Symco-Davies and David Ginley from NREL. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/13/2012 - 16:44
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SunShot Ramesh
R. Ramesh, Director, SunShot Initiative, speaks at the plenary session. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/14/2012 - 07:45
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SunShot David Danielson
David Danielson, Assitant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy speaks at the plenary session. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/14/2012 - 08:06
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SunShot Dan Arvizu, NREL
Dan Arvizu, Director National Renewable Energy Laboratory, speaks at the plenary session. (Photo by DENNIS SCHROEDER / NREL)
Date taken: 06/14/2012 - 08:20
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on Huffington Post Green.
In my two years as the director of the Energy Department's Solar Energy Technologies Program, I have often been accused of being an eternal optimist. I see our nation's energy challenges as an incredible opportunity -- one that has the potential to revolutionize our economy, environment, and national security.
That's why, back in 2010, we established the SunShot Initiative to decrease the total installed price of solar energy by 75 percent by 2020. We took our inspiration from President Kennedy's 1962 "moon shot" speech that set the country on a path to regain the lead in the space race and land a man on the moon. Many thought a manned lunar mission was beyond NASA's capabilities, but this bold move ultimately united the country when it proved successful.
There were plenty of naysayers when we launched the SunShot Initiative -- even within the industry -- who said that subsidy-free, cost-competitive solar couldn't happen in this decade. But we didn't listen to them. And now -- as the price of solar panels decreases and America's solar energy industry explodes -- many of those same naysayers are changing their tune.
Since we set out on this audacious journey, photovoltaic module costs have been cut in half. While we still have another factor of two to go before we reach a tipping point, we're finding that, in some markets, cost-competitive solar is already a reality.
To continue to set a path forward, we recently held the SunShot Grand Challenge Summit in Denver, Colorado. The event brought together more than 700 of the brightest minds in solar to discuss how far we've come and what challenges lie ahead.
The challenges are many. How can we streamline and standardize solar permitting processes? What can we do to get the financial community to embrace innovative technologies that have not yet been tested over long periods of time? How will our infrastructure handle high levels of variable solar energy inputs? Certainly, these are difficult issues, but they are not insurmountable.
Just consider -- back in the 1960s the first commercially available solar cells cost $400 per watt. By the end of 2010, prices for the state-of-the-art installed PV systems were about $3 per watt at the utility scale. And today, bids for large-scale plants are in the range of $1.20 per watt.
As we continue to push for innovation to drive down the cost of solar, it's much easier to imagine a day in the near future when we will reach $1 per watt for a fully installed solar energy system. If I've learned anything during my term as SunShot Director, it is that the seemingly impossible will one day be possible.