The solar industry will soon receive over $17 million geared toward increasing PV performance and, ultimately, driving down costs. The money will come from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which announced a $13.7 million investment in 11 university-led projects. In addition, the solar industry cost share is 20 percent.

According to the DOE, which made the announcement on March 11, each of the 11 universities will work with an industry partner to help transition their discoveries to the marketplace. Their discoveries will involve ways to make high performance solar cells with more efficient designs and materials. The hope is that current costs of $0.18 to $0.23 per kilowatt hour will go down to $0.05 to $0.10 per kilowatt hour by 2015.

The universities to receive the funding include Arizona State University, California Institute of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, North Carolina State University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Delaware Institute of Energy Conversion, University of Florida, and the University of Toledo.

Links:

DOE to Invest Up to $13.7 Million in 11 Solar Cell Projects
DOE to Invest US $13.7 Million in Solar
DOE Press Release