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May
1, 2008
Washington,
DC, USA: DOE to Invest Up to $60 Million for Advanced Concentrating
Solar Power Technologies
U.S.
Under Secretary of Energy Clarence “Bud” Albright yesterday announced
the issuance of the Solar Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)
for up to $60 million in funding over five years (Fiscal Years
2008-2012), which includes $10 million in FY 2008 appropriations
and $10 million in the FY 2009 Budget request, to support the
development of low-cost Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology.
Increasing
the use of solar energy is an important component of the Administration’s
efforts to diversify our nation’s energy sources in an effort
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance our energy security.
Under
Secretary Albright announced the Solar FOA issuance in his remarks
to the Energy Marketer’s Association Convention. “Harnessing
the natural and abundant power of the sun and more cost-effectively
converting it into energy is an important component of our comprehensive
strategy to commercialize and deploy advanced clean, alternative
technologies that will allow us to become less reliant on foreign
oil,” Albright said. “The Administration’s investment in solar
technology will not only bolster innovation, but will help meet
the President’s goal of making solar power cost-competitive with
conventional sources of electricity over the next seven years.”
The
FOA makes funding available for projects from industry and academia
that develop advanced thermal storage concepts and heat transfer
fluids to further increase the efficiency of concentrating solar
power plants.
DOE
anticipates making 10-25 awards through this competitive solicitation.
With a minimum 20 percent cost share by the private sector for
research and development phases and a minimum 50 percent private
cost share for final demonstration phases, the total research
investment in advanced solar technologies under this solicitation
is expected to exceed $75 million.
CSP
systems use heat generated by concentrating and absorbing solar
energy to produce thermal energy. This type of solar energy can
be used immediately for generating power through a steam turbine
or heat engine, or may be saved as thermal energy for later use.
Storage of solar energy in this manner removes the intermittency
of sunlight, making it “dispatchable” and thus enabling CSP systems
to provide electricity day or night.
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