Since World War II, the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories has been working to solve some of America’s most challenging scientific problems. They have also served as innovators. It wasn’t till 1977 that the Solar Energy Research Institute (now known as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL) opened its doors to push the limits of the earliest photovoltaic technology. Since then, NREL’s efforts have been remarkable, helping solar energy become more cost-effective and advancing U.S. leadership in clean energy technology and energy independence.
Over the last 50 years, NREL has played a significant role in developing solar energy technologies. SunShot has created the SunShot Multiyear Laboratory Partnership funding program to help national labs continue to address the most critical barriers to our SunShot goal. SuNLaMP is spread over all five SunShot research and development programs – photovoltaics and concentrating solar power: systems integration, technology to markets, and soft cost.
SuNLaMP’s photovoltaics projects address a wide range of PV-related challenges. Consider, for instance, a project to standardize methods of analyzing the degradation rate of PV modules. The degradation rate of PV modules needs to be assessed comprehensively, considering climate, mounting configuration, or technology details. Creating new standards will allow for more accurate PV performance predictions throughout the module’s lifetime, lowering the perceived financial risks associated with new PV projects. Researchers are working on a project to improve the defect chemistry of cadmium-telluride solar cells to reach a 24% efficiency mark. It would be a significant achievement for the cadmium-telluride technology. This would allow the cost of PV energy from this material to decrease.
A SuNLaMP initiative that ensures new technologies are successfully brought to market also boosts solar manufacturing. Researchers at NREL use bottom-up techno-economic cost models to estimate the costs of manufacturing methods, materials, and system installation. This work will result in new analyses identifying areas of research interest with high impact across the entire value chain.
Laboratories are also working on advancing concentrating solar power technology (CSP). Oak Ridge National Laboratory has a project that aims to clean mirrors of dust for they to reflect sunlight better. Researchers are working on self-cleaning spray-on reflective coatings for heliostats that will accumulate 50% less dust than mirrors without the layer. This project will reduce the costs of frequent mirror cleaning and save thousands of gallons of water.
Solar power can be challenging to integrate into the grid, regardless of how it is produced. The Sandia National Laboratories’ SuNLaMP systems integration project updates the current technical metrics of grid communications using a new distributed communication and control architecture. Grid operators will be able to manage the impact of solar technologies on the grid. These frameworks will help grid operators adopt the technologies needed to achieve higher levels of solar power on the grid. This will result in significant cost savings to the PV, utility, and grid operators’ communities.
The labs help accelerate consumer adoption of solar and answer these big technical questions. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory assists the residential market growth through information provided to real estate professionals, PV adopters, and other interested parties to encourage accurate evaluations of solar homes. The lab is expanding its knowledge about how solar panels affect property values by including third-party residential and commercial systems and making that information easier to incorporate into multiple listing services. This project could stimulate the demand for solar and reduce financing and risk costs.
Our labs work continuously to lower the cost of solar electricity and help the solar industry to grow. Read more on the groundbreaking work that is being done under the SuNLaMP program.