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Solar America Initiative includes UD research
5:45 p.m., March 19, 2007--The University of Delaware is playing an active role in the nation's Solar America Initiative, conducting research in four of 13 industry-led solar technology development projects announced earlier this month by U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman. The projects could receive funding of up to $168 million, subject to Congressional appropriation. UD scientists at the Institute of Energy Conversion will be working on projects led by General Electric, Dow Chemical, Konarka and Miasole. The institute, which is directed by Robert W. Birkmire, will receive funding of $350,000 the first year, and up to $1 million over a three-year period contingent upon negotiations the teams meeting their stated goals at the end of the first and second years of the project. "The Institute of Energy Conversion has been involved in the development of photovoltaic technology over the past 35 years. It is exciting for us to see technology that IEC played a role in developing be commercialized and be part of the Solar America Initiative, whose goal is to achieve market competitiveness for photovoltaics by 2015 through government partnerships with industry, universities, national laboratories, states and other public entities," Birkmire said. "Being on four of the 13 partnership programs is a clear recognition of our expertise and support for photovoltaic programs over the years." Alexander Karsner, DOE assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, visited a GE Energy solar manufacturing facility in Newark on Friday, March 16, to announce funding for the General Electric-led project. DOE considers spending on university research in the field of solar energy an investment, Karsner said, adding the role of universities is critical. “Given the results that you've seen from the University of Delaware, which for years has been a center of excellence, you should be enormously proud of what has been accomplished,” he said. General Electric is leading an alliance of companies, universities and researchers that are collaborating to accelerate the large-scale commercialization of solar technology into products that are cost competitive with retail electricity rates without the need for government assistant. The team's commercialization strategy will focus on residential and commercial buildings that currently consume more than 60 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. By 2010, GE and its team will be positioned to deliver more than 200 megawatts (MW) of easily installed solar electric products into residential and commercial markets. The alliance's goal is to drive down the cost of electricity to make solar energy competitive with other power generation technologies, leading to widespread application. Research will take place at both GE Energy's facility in Newark and at the GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna, N.Y. “We believe that GE's participation in the Solar America Initiative will play a significant role in helping the United States solar industry grow rapidly,” Victor Abate, GE Energy vice president for renewables, said. “We are honored that the DOE chose GE Energy to be a part of this innovative program.” In addition to UD's Institute of Energy Conversion, GE's alliance includes the Renewable Energy Corporation, Solaicx, Xantrex Technology Inc., the Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina State University, Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. DOE funding for the first year of the project is expected to be roughly $8.1 million, with approximately $18.6 million available over three years if the team meets its goals.
The Konarka project will focus on manufacturing research and product reliability assurance for extremely low-cost photovoltaic cells using organic dyes that convert sunlight to electricity. Partners for this project include UD and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. DOE funding for the first year of the project is expected to be $1.2 million, with approximately $3.6 million available over three years if the team meets its goals. The Miasole project will develop high-volume manufacturing technologies and photovoltaic component technologies. Research will focus on new types of flexible thin-film modules with integrated electronics and advances in technologies used for installation and maintenance. Project partners include UD, Exeltech, Carlisle SynTec, Sandia National Laboratories, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the University of Colorado. Funding for the first year of the project is expected to be $5.8 million, with approximately $20 million available over three years if the team meets its goals. DOE believes these projects will help significantly reduce the cost of producing and distributing solar energy. As part of the cost-shared agreements, the industry-led teams will contribute more than 50 percent of the funding for these projects for a total value of up to $357 million over three years. These cooperative agreements, to be negotiated, will be the first made available as part of President George W. Bush's Solar America Initiative, a component of the Advanced Energy Initiative announced during the 2006 State of the Union Address. “Solar technology can play a crucial role in moving toward affordable net zero energy homes and businesses, which combine energy efficiency and renewable energy produced on-site,” Bodman said. ”Efficient buildings with solar power generation can help reduce peak demand and ease the need for expensive new generating capacity, transmission, and distributions lines as our economy grows.” The teams selected for negotiation have formed Technology Pathway Partnerships, which include companies, laboratories, universities and non-profit organizations to accelerate the drive towards commercialization of U.S.-produced solar photovoltaic systems. These partnerships are comprised of more than 50 companies, 14 universities, three non-profit organizations and two national laboratories. In addition, the projects will enable the projected expansion of the annual U.S. manufacturing capacity of photovoltaic systems from 240 megawatts in 2005 to as much as 2,850 megawatts by 2010. Bodman said solar energy is a clean, abundant, widespread, and renewable energy source that can be used to increase electricity generating capacity while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions as compared to other energy conversion pathways. Photovoltaic-based solar cells convert sunlight directly into electricity. They are made of semiconductor materials similar to those used in computer chips. When sunlight is absorbed by these materials, the solar energy knocks electrons loose from their atoms, allowing the electrons to flow through the material to produce electricity. The process of converting light to electricity is called the photovoltaic effect. Photo by Jon Cox
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