NEW YORK, New York, USA, June 27, 2007.
The U.S. Department of Energy will provide US$60 million to increase the use of solar power across the country.
Thirteen cities will receive $2.5 million each to promote increased use of solar technologies in each city under the ‘Solar America Cities’ cooperative agreements, says energy secretary Samuel Bodman. The cities are Ann Arbor (Michigan), Austin (Texas), Berkeley (California), Boston (Massachusetts), Madison (Wisconsin), New Orleans (Louisiana), New York (New York), Pittsburgh (Philadelphia), Portland (Oregon), Salt Lake City (Utah), San Diego (California), San Francisco (California) and Tucson (Arizona).
“We believe these projects will stimulate activity in the marketplace and create a ripple effect that will boost the use of solar energy across the country,” says Bodman. “Harnessing more of the sun’s power is central to reaching the President’s goal of increasing our nation’s energy security by pushing forward clean, renewable technologies that will allow us to become less reliant on imported sources of energy.”
Subject to negotiation of final terms, DOE will provide $2.5 million to the 13 competitively-selected projects for cost-shared, two-year projects. DOE will also provide hands-on assistance from technical and policy experts to help cities integrate solar technologies into city energy planning, zoning and facilities; to streamline city-level regulations and practices that affect solar adoption by residents and local businesses; and to promote solar technology through outreach, curriculum development, and incentive programs.
‘Solar America Cities’ were identified as large cities with high demand for electricity and which represent a diverse geography, population, and maturity of solar infrastructure. They were selected on their plan and commitment to a comprehensive approach to the deployment of solar technologies, and their efforts will improve the ability of residents and companies to adopt solar technology.
Subject to evaluation by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, as well as appropriations from Congress, the department will select a new round of Solar America Cities in 2008.
In addition to the ‘Solar America Initiative’ which seeks to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional sources of electricity by 2015, Bodman announced a ‘Funding Opportunity Announcement’ for $30 million for universities to research near-term improvements in solar products; and the competitive selection of ten cost-shared PV module incubator projects that will receive $27 million in funding over 18 months.
The PV incubator projects will receive funding over 18 months and include 20% costs from industry, to reach a total research investment of $71 million. Companies will address the challenges related to reducing cost, improving performance, and expanding manufacturing capacity of innovative PV technologies to move from small-scale to pilot production.
Incubator funding is structured so companies receive DOE funding only upon successful performance of pre-specified new hardware, and this approach allows the government to remove some administrative reviews and planning paperwork to allow early-stage companies to focus on technology development.
Companies selected to participate in the PV Incubator Projects include AVA Solar (Fort Collins, CO); Blue Square Energy (North East, MD); CaliSolar (Menlo Park, CA); EnFocus Engineering (Sunnyvale, CA); MicroLink Devices (Niles, IL); Plextronics (Pittsburgh, PA); PrimeStar Solar (Golden, CO); Solaria (Fremont, CA); SolFocus (Palo Alto, CA); and SoloPower (Milpitas, CA).
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 provides incentives for purchasing and using solar equipment, and that incentives have been extended through 2008 to provide a credit equal to 30% of qualifying expenditures for purchase of commercial solar installations, with no cap on the total credit allowed. EPAct provides a 30% tax credit for qualified PV property and solar water heating property, and owners of private property can receive a credit of $4,000 if both PV and solar thermal are installed.
Bodman made his announcement while speaking to the American Council on Renewable Energy finance forum in New York.
