Solar Power World

DOE invests $7m: Four projects for photovoltaics

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will invest up to $7 million through its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to support emerging solar developments. Much of the funding will go to the PV Technology Incubator program, which awards startup companies thereby supporting new manufacturing processes and affordable products. With this funding, previous award recipients, including Calisolar and Abound Solar, have already developed new PV technology and are creating jobs... Read More

Best-suited lands for public solar projects

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced a comprehensive environmental analysis that has identified proposed ‘solar energy zones’ on public lands in six western states most suitable for environmentally sound, utility-scale solar energy production. Proposed solar energy zones in Arizona -blm.govThe detailed study, known as the Draft Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, was compiled over the past two years as part of... Read More

DOE Confirms Stick-On PV Film Improves Efficiency 12%

A stick-on photovoltaic film developed by Soloptics can improve solar panel efficiency rates by over 12 percent, thereby reducing the cost of solar power for the consumer. The US Department of Energy confirmed the products’ effectiveness on August 2.In tests performed by NREL at its Golden, Colorado research campus, FUSION delivered conversion efficiency gains ranging from 10-12.5 percent depending on testing conditions. FUSION achieved these gains regardless of the... Read More

U.S. Government Pledges $2 Billion For Solar Energy Development

On July 3rd the U.S. President Obama announced that the U.S. Department of Energy will invest nearly 2 billion U.S. dollars to subsidize two companies to build solar power plants to support the development of the U.S. solar industry and increase employment. Obama said this fund will come from the total 8620 billion of economic stimulus package, Abengoa Solar will receive 1.45 billion U.S. dollars of loan guarantees for construction in Arizona called “Solana” ... Read More

DOE Issues Concentrating Solar Report To Congress

The US Department of Energy has issued a report to congress that explores a number of strategies to reduce the water consumption of concentrating solar power (CSP) electricity generation, a promising renewable energy option that may substantially increase water demands in some of the country’s most arid regions. The report, dryly titled (no pun intended) Concentrating Solar Power Commercial Application Study: Reducing Water Consumption of Concentrating Solar Power Electricity... Read More

Concentrated Solar Power Projects Receive $62 million From DOE

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the selections of projects for investment of up to $62 million over five years to research, develop, and demonstrate Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems capable of providing low-cost electrical power.  This funding will support improvements in CSP systems, components, and thermal energy storage to accelerate the market-readiness of this renewable energy technology. Accelerating breakthroughs in renewable... Read More

DOE Releases $60 Million More for Small Businesses In Clean Energy Innovation Projects

At a White House Energy Innovation meeting, Under Secretary of Energy Kristina Johnson announced that $60 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is available to continue supporting innovative small business research and development leading to deployment of clean energy technologies.  This is a Phase II funding opportunity under the Department’s Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program for companies... Read More

DOE Invests Another $200 Million In Wind and Solar Power

Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that the Department will invest more than US $200 million over five years to expand and accelerate the development, commercialization, and use of solar and water power technologies throughout the United States. The Department will also create a national administrator of the solar instructor training network position in which it expects to invest up to $4.5 million over five... Read More

New York Receives $40M From DOE For Solar Power

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) this week awarded New York communities US $40 million in federal stimulus funds to help property owners implement energy efficiency and small-scale clean energy projects. New York City and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) received the grants through the federal Retrofit Ramp-Up Program· The programs are entirely voluntary. There is no requirement for municipalities to create PACE programs, or for... Read More

Commercial Buildings Going Green Receive Support From The DOE

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced support for energy-saving commercial building projects as part of an ongoing effort by DOE to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in the United States. With money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, DOE’s national laboratories will select and fund technical experts to provide technical guidance to commercial building owners and operators.  The goal of this Commercial Building Partnerships (CBP) initiative... Read More

DOE Report Explains How Recovery Act Benefits Small Business

The Department of Energy today released a new report highlighting the benefits of the Recovery Act to small businesses throughout the clean, renewable energy industry and environmental management sector. The report found that as of early March 2010, small businesses have been selected to receive nearly $5.4 billion in funding across a number of Recovery Act and related programs, including loans, loan guarantees, grants, contracts and tax incentives, in partnership with the... Read More

DOE Has Announced 12 Projects To Receive Federal Funding

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program paves the way for federal support of clean energy projects that use innovative technologies, and spurs further investment in these advanced technologies.  A principal purpose of the Loan Guarantee Program is to encourage early commercial use in the United States of new or significantly improved technologies in energy projects.  DOE believes that accelerated commercial use of new or improved technologies will... Read More

DOE Announces $100M To Be Made Available In Recovery Act

At the inaugural ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit today, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced $100 million in Recovery Act funding will be made available to accelerate innovation in green technology, increase America’s competitiveness and create new jobs. Today’s announcement comes as some of the nation’s top energy leaders and members of the scientific research community have gathered to ensure U.S. leadership in clean energy technologies. Today’s announcement,... Read More

Solar Power For U.S. Soldiers

The scene is a familiar one from the nightly news: a U.S. soldier on patrol in a remote locale, outfitted in the latest high-tech gadgetry – radios, night vision goggles, navigation gear – devices that enhance mission capabilities and help keep the infantry safe. While such electronic wizardry has become indispensible to the modern military, it also requires an ever growing amount of power to keep it all running. That has usually meant more and more batteries.  At some... Read More

World’s Largest Solar Project Receives $1.37B From DOE

Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced conditional commitments for more than $1.37 billion in loan guarantees under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to BrightSource Energy, Inc. to support the construction and start-up of three utility-scale concentrated solar power plants. The new plants will generate approximately 400 megawatts (MW) of electricity using the company’s innovative, proprietary technology.  This would nearly double the existing generation... Read More