US Department of Energy dusts off solar war chest

Administration offers up to $60m in funding over five years to support projects aiming to enhance efficiency of solar thermal technologies

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has this week announced plans for up to $60m in funding over the next five years to support the development of low cost solar concentrator technologies.

Under the new scheme, universities and private firms will be able to apply for funding to support projects to enhance the efficiency of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology, including new heat storage and transfer technologies designed for optimising the performance of solar farms.

CSP, or solar thermal systems, represent the most cost effective means of harnessing the sun's energy. They work by concentrating this to create thermal energy, which can then be captured to generate power through a steam turbine or heat engine. Advocates of the technology claim it is cheaper to manufacture than solar cells and that the thermal energy can be stored, commonly using salt solutions, so that energy can still be generated overnight.

US Secretary of Energy Clarence "Bud" Albright said that the new Solar Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) formed an important component of the government's attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy security. "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," he added.

The DOE said that it was expecting to deliver around $75m to between 10 and 25 projects through the first round of funding, applications for which are due before 10 July.

Under the terms of the funding, the private sector will have to provide a minimum of 20 per cent of the cost of the project for research and development phases and a minimum 50 per cent of the cost for final demonstration phases.

The move comes just weeks after the DOE announced it was to invest $50m over the next five years in nine demonstration projects designed to enhance the efficiency of the US grid. The department said that the projects – which range from smart grid systems to new technologies for managing the flow of energy from renewable sources – would aim to cut peak energy loads by at least 15 per cent.