1. The SunShot Initiative & the U.S. Solar Energy Industry
Dr. Charlie Gay, Director
Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO)
26 April 2017
IDCC

2. Solar Technologies: Photovoltaics, Concentrating Solar Power
Photovoltaic (PV) technologies absorb energy from sunlight and convert it directly into electricity through a semiconductor material, such as silicon. PV cells are connected together to make panels/modules. Individual PV panels/modules are connected together to make large arrays.
Concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a receiver where it is collected and converted into heat. This heat energy can be stored and used to produce electricity whenever it is needed.

3. Modern Electric Grid: Two Way Energy and Data Flow
Goal: Centralized and distributed generation optimized with finely tuned, 2-way load balancing

4. U.S. Solar: Falling Costs, Rising Deployment
The solar energy industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S. Driven by falling costs, total solar installed capacity reached 35.8 gigawatts in 2016 with more than one million solar projects operating across the country.
2016 $/Watt
Sources: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, "U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System Cost Benchmark: Q1 2016"; GTM Research and SEIA, “U.S. Solar Market Insight Report: 2016 YIR."

5. Solar is the Fastest Growing Energy Source in America
Natural Gas
Solar
Wind
New Capacity Added in 2016
In 2016, solar represented nearly 40% of all new electricity capacity installed in the United States.
76% of voters support more emphasis on solar power development.
Solar polled higher than any other electricity source.
84% of voters support an all-of-the-above energy strategy, including renewables.
These voters cite cleaner air and less pollution as key reasons they support renewables.
76%
84%
Sources: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, "Office of Energy Projects Energy Infrastructure Update for June 2016"; GTM Research and SEIA, “U.S. Solar Market Insight 2016 YIR." Note: Distributed PV converted to AC using .83 derate factor. Conservative Energy Network, “Voter Attitudes on Clean Energy,” November 28, 2016.

6. Consumers are Increasingly Choosing Solar Power
UTILITIES
26.5 GW
COMPANIES
(Non-Residential)
7.7 GW
HOUSEHOLDS
8.2 GW
About 1/3 of all U.S. utilities in 39 states offer solar power to their customers.
There is enough solar energy installed in the U.S. to power the equivalent of 8.3M households.
Utilities are today choosing solar power even without state mandates like Renewable Portfolio Standards.
Over 65,000 U.S. businesses have installed solar to lower their energy costs and help to reduce prices for consumers.
Some of the most successful companies and organizations in the world are deploying solar — including Apple, IKEA, Target, Costco, Walmart, Macy’s, and Kohl’s.
Electricity customers across all 50 states have chosen solar for their properties.
Over 1.3M U.S. homes have installed solar energy systems.
Residential solar photovoltaic installations are expected to grow 9% in 2017.
Source: Cumulative solar capacity from GTM Research and SEIA, “U.S. Solar Market Insight 2016 YIR”

7. Solar Supplies 1% of U.S. Electricity & Growing
More progress must be made in order to take advantage of this domestic energy resource and to compete in the growing global market.
Percent of Annual Electricity Generation UK
Italy
Spain
Japan
Israel
Chile
U.S.
India
France
World
China
Canada
Germany
Sources: International Energy Agency, "2015 Snapshot of Global Photovoltaic Markets”; “Solar Thermal Electricity Global Outlook 2016”.

8. The $25B U.S. Solar Value Chain
Export Focus
Domestic Focus
Capital Equipment
Direct Materials
Module
Mfg
Inverters Electronics
Sales Distribution
Financial Services
Developers
Installers
Operations
Services
Utilities
$250M
$1.1B
$900M
$680M
$1.4B
$2.8B
$17.3B
$375M
35,000
jobs
30,000 jobs
10,000
jobs
170,000 jobs
15,000
jobs
Applied Materials Amtech
GTAT
DuPont
Dow Corning
Hemlock
Wacker
REC Silicon
SolarWorld
First Solar
Suniva
Mission Solar
Energy Jiangsu
Shunfeng PV
Stion
Miasole
SoloPower
SunPower
Ascent Solar
SolarCity
ABB
SMA
Enphase
Siemens
Fronius USA
General Electric
Spruce
Sungevity
EnergySage
Solar Pathfinder
Eco-Leads
Geostellar
OnGrid Solar
Solar Nexus
Genability
Soligent
Solmetric
Sunible
JP Morgan
U.S. Bank
Keycorp
B of America
Google
GE EFS
Latham & W
Milbank Tweed
Skadden Arps
Black & Veatch
Novogradac
Deloitte
BNEF
First Solar
Mortenson Construction
SolarCity
E Light ES
NRG Energy
CSW Contact. Helix Elec.
Rosendin Elec.
Cupertino Elec.
SunRun
Vivint Solar
RGS Energy
First Solar
SOLV
SolarCity SunPower
MaxGen
Sempra NextEra
SunRun
SMA
EDF
Miller Bros
Vivint Solar
Combined value: $25B/year Total employment: 260,000+ 7

9. 260,000+ U.S. Jobs in the Solar Industry
# of Workers (thousands)
Fourth straight year 20%+
workforce growth
The median wage for solar installers is $26 per hour
According to the Solar Foundation’s sixth annual National Solar Jobs Census 2016 report, the U.S. solar industry is creating high-skilled, well-paying jobs at a phenomenal rate, adding workers nearly 17 times faster than the overall economy.  
There are more than 260,000 solar workers in the United States, up from 209,000 in the previous year. This marks the fourth consecutive year in which employment growth was at least 20%. The solar workforce has grown an extraordinary 178% since 2010—adding more than 166,000 jobs.
As the solar workforce continues to display this strong growth trajectory, the Department of Energy is committed to address the needs of the growing workforce, ensuring that the next generation of solar workers has the training and skills needed to build a career in solar energy.
In 2016, nearly 1,000 new jobs were created every week in the solar industry
Manufacturing is on the rise and is the 2nd largest sector in the solar industry
17x national job growth rate
Source: The Solar Foundation, “2016 National Solar Jobs Census.”
*Other jobs include R&D and related services, consulting, engineering, finance, legal, or other professional services and other support services.

10. SunShot Progress and Goals
The solar industry is more than 90% of the way to achieving SunShot’s 2020 utility-scale cost target. SunShot’s 2030 goal is to cut costs an additional
50% between 2020 and 2030, to make solar the least expensive source of energy.
LCOE in cents/kWh (2016 $)*
*Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) progress and targets are calculated based on average U.S. climate and without the ITC or state/local incentives. Utility-scale PV uses one-axis tracking.

11. SunShot Funds 250+ Active Projects
Projects and partners in
states plus the
District of Columbia 48
70% of projects at national labs & universities
10% of projects with non-profits*
20% of projects with companies
Note: SETO has funded past projects in North Dakota and Alaska.
*1% of state and local government

12. SunShot Uses a Cooperative Agreement Project Structure
Cooperative agreements involve substantial federal oversight and consist of go/no go technical milestones that help ensure taxpayer return
Applications are subject to highly competitive solicitation and review processes
255 completed projects in the last 3 years
34 cancelled projects
$52M saved
through active
project management
= 5 projects

13. SunShot Reached 1,000 Solar Instructors via “Train the Trainer” Model
Success Story: Job Creation
SunShot Reached 1,000 Solar Instructors via “Train the Trainer” Model
SunShot directly supported the national administrator and the regional training providers.
The program was updated and continued as the “Solar Training Network” in May 2016.

14. Incubator Program Leverages $22 for $1 in Public Investment
Success Story: Economic Impact & Entrepreneurship
Incubator Program Leverages $22 for $1 in Public Investment
ROI calculations are based on publicly available and confidentially reported venture capital and private equity investments into Incubator awardee companies.

15. DOE R&D Drives Solar Cell Efficiency Records
Success Story: Research & Innovation
DOE R&D Drives Solar Cell Efficiency Records
Multijunction
Multijunction
A Sample of DOE-Supported Projects
GaAs
Silicon
Cu(In,Ga)Se
CdTe
Perovskite
Amorphous Si
More than half of all solar cell efficiency world records have been directly funded by DOE and
30% of all patents in solar energy have been linked to intellectual property attributable to DOE.
Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, "Retrospective Benefit Cost Evaluation of DOE Investment in Photovoltaic Energy Systems” (Patent data accurate as of 2010); National Center for Photovoltaics, “Research Cell Record Efficiency Chart"

16. Solar Energy Technologies – Highlights
Supports innovations across the full $25B/year U.S. solar PV industry supply chain
250+ active R&D projects across 48 states accelerating 9,000 U.S. solar businesses
Small solar businesses attracted $22 in private investment for every $1 of support
Economic Impact
Entrepreneurship
260,000 total employed in solar; growing at the rate of ~1,000 new jobs per week
The median wage for solar installers is $26 per hour
Supported training for 60,000 U.S. workers including power systems engineers
Job Creation
Supports diversification of domestic energy supply with affordable homegrown power
Enables improved reliability & security of our national electric grid
Expands more efficient use of existing distribution grid system
Infrastructure and Resiliency
Creates diverse portfolio of competitive edge innovations
Early-stage R&D emphasizes pragmatic pathways to rapid industrialization
10+yr planning horizon; research beyond private-sector capacity
Research & Innovation
Achieving SunShot’s 2030 goals would reduce pollution by as much as 15% and reduce power-sector water consumption 10%
Air and Water
Supports U.S. technology advances to win domestic and global business opportunities, even with numerous countries directing a higher percentage of GDP to energy R&D
DOE funded >50% of all world records for solar cell efficiency
International Competitiveness

17. Advanced Inverter Testing Enables Greater Reliability and Resiliency
High energy costs and the state’s isolation have spurred Hawaii to adopt renewable energy goals.
In 2015, solar power customers across Hawaii delivered nearly 20 times more solar power into the electric grid than the mainland U.S. As a result of the high amount of solar on the grid, Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) halted approval of new solar systems.
NREL worked with HECO to test advanced inverters, which confirmed that it could have over 30% of their energy supplied by solar and manage the grid without introducing reliability concerns.
As a result, HECO was able to add 2,700 additional systems to the grid, increasing flexibility and shoring-up stability on its local grids while proving solutions that can be used across the nation.

18. Electric Cooperatives Channel Solar Resources to Rural American Communities
Electric cooperatives cover 70% of U.S. geographic territory and make sure 42 million Americans living in rural communities have access to affordable electricity.
Co-ops need help creating large-scale solar programs and solutions that meet member needs.
NRECA created a ready-to-use set of standard engineering designs, financing models, and plans to help electric co-ops understand how to reduce solar adoption and integration costs.
NRECA also supported the deployment 23 MW of utility-scale PV in 15 states and their project partner signed a letter of intent with an investor to make $100 million in tax equity available for solar co-op projects.

19. Solar Forecasting Gets a Boost from Watson, Accuracy Improved by 30%
Solar forecasting can help utilities and grid operators better predict solar generation levels and make it easier to meet consumer electricity demands on a day-to-day basis.
Using machine-learning, the same technology behind the Jeopardy! playing robot Watson, IBM improved solar forecasting accuracy by as much as 30%.
When utilities and grid operators better understand generation patterns, they’re able to maximize solar resources, operate more efficiently, and improve solar energy’s economic competitiveness.