by Shane Henson — August 7, 2013—Facilities owners and managers who are interested in solar power but are looking for technology that will perform consistently even in bad weather may be interested in a recent announcement from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that its ARPA-E program will offer up to $30 million for a program to develop new technologies that deliver cost-effective solar energy when the sun is not shining, in bad weather and even at night.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program was launched in 2009 to seek out transformational, breakthrough technologies that show fundamental technical promise but are too early for private-sector investment. To date, ARPA-E has funded 285 projects, across 33 states, with $770 million in funding, says the DOE.
ARPA-E’s new program, Full-Spectrum Optimized Conversion and Utilization of Sunlight (FOCUS), seeks to develop two distinct technology options to deliver low-cost, high-efficiency solar energy on demand: new hybrid solar energy converters and new hybrid energy storage systems.
According to the DOE, the technologies developed will help advance solar energy beyond current photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies to ensure solar power remains a consistent, cost-effective renewable energy option.
The first approach will develop advanced solar converters that turn sunlight into electricity for immediate use, while also producing heat that can be stored at low cost for later use. These hybrid converters will reportedly use the entire solar spectrum more efficiently than PV or CSP technologies. The second approach will develop innovative storage systems that accept heat and electricity from variable solar sources to deliver electricity when needed, says the DOE.
According to DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz, energy innovations like the ones to be developed through FOCUS are a critical contribution to ensuring America’s future national, economic, and environmental security.
