U.S. Department of Energy announced it will invest $5.2 million in funding to support the development of low-cost concentrating solar power (CSP). As part of the department's technology transfer efforts, the DOE will also make available a Technology Commercialization Development Fund of up to $7.2 million to three of DOE's National Laboratories to support commercialization of clean energy technologies.
The DOE named nine companies that will receive the new funding: 3M in St. Paul, Minn.; Alcoa in Alcoa Center, Pa.; Brayton Energy in Hampton, N.H.; the Hamilton Sundstrand division of United Technologies Corp., based in Canoga Park, Calif.; Infinia in Kennewick, Wash.; PPG Industries in Pittsburgh; Skyfuel in New York; Solar Millennium in Berkeley, Calif.; and Solucar in Lakewood, Colo.
According to the DOE, the projects originated by the nine companies will develop technology to reduce the cost of CSP power and emphasizes the development of storage technologies. Specifically, CSP project goals include reducing the cost of solar power to be regularly available at less than $0.10 per kWh by 2015.
