DOE Unveils the SunShot PV Program Winners

Think “Moon Shot” in getting solar to $1 per watt installed. Here’s the big list of recipients from the DOE.

Eric Wesoff September 02, 2011

Eric Wesoff

Editor-at-Large
Greentech Media

Eric Wesoff is Editor-at-Large at Greentech Media. Prior to joining GTM, Eric Wesoff founded Sage Marketing Partners in 2000 to provide sales and marketing-consulting services to venture-capital firms and their portfolio companies in the alternative energy and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Wesoff has become a well-known, respected authority and speaker in these fields.

His expertise covers solar power, fuel cells, biofuels and advanced batteries. His strengths are in market research and analysis, business development and due diligence for investors. He frequently consults for energy startups and Silicon Valley's premier venture capitalists.

Despite any news of solar setbacks this week, the DOE just announced the long list of solar companies, universities, and organizations to receive money from the SunShot Program.

Today's awards totaled more than $145 million across 24 states. Here's the list by state.

According to the DOE website, the SunShot initiative looks to reduce the total costs of photovoltaic solar energy systems by about 75 percent so that they are cost-competitive with other forms of energy without subsidies before 2020. DOE Energy Secretary Steven Chu is targeting $1 per watt, which he said corresponds to roughly 6 cents per kilowatt-hour.

The awards were divided into six categories:

Extreme Balance-of-System Hardware Cost Reductions: Nine projects to receive $42 million.
Foundational Program to Advance Cell Efficiency: 18 projects to receive $35.8 million.
Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems: Advanced Concepts: Eight projects to receive $25.9 million.
Transformational PV Science and Technology: Next Generation Photovoltaics II: 23 projects to receive $22.2 million.
Reducing Market Barriers and Non-Hardware Balance-of-System Costs: Seven projects to receive $13.6 million.
SunShot Incubator: Four projects to receive $5.8 million.

The list of projects by category follows. Interestingly, the two largest awards in this flurry fell under the Balance of System category but were for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) development programs. Dow Chemical received $12.8 million for a BIPV program and Solexel/Owens Corning won $13M for a BIPV roofing shingle program.

It's a long list and if you're in the solar industry, the chances are you or one of your colleagues just received a modest infusion of government cash. Is this a more appropriate method of promoting solar than massive loan guarantees?