Solar energy roadmaps were developed in 2007 by staff at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and experts from universities and private industry, for the following ten photovoltaic (PV) technologies. These PV roadmaps are available for review (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_america/publications.html) and are currently undergoing revisions with an expected release date of late summer 2009.
The future vision for solar energy includes a new generation of cost-effective "zero-energy buildings" that will both conserve energy and produce its own supply, effectively having no net annual need for nonrenewable energy. Additionally, modes of transportation, and perhaps and even clothes worn, could produce clean, safe electric power. Solar electricity of the future will utilize an electrolysis process that separates the hydrogen and oxygen in water, with hydrogen harvested for use in fuel cells for transportation and in buildings.
Photovoltaic (PV) research and development is expected to result in breakthroughs in new materials, cell designs, and novel approaches to product development. Within 10 years, photovoltaic power is forecasted to be competitive in price with traditional sources of electricity. The enormous solar power potential of the Southwest would be tapped. A desert area 10 miles by 15 miles could theoretically meet the electricity needs of the entire United States (20,000 megawatts of power) by a photovoltaic array within an area 100 miles on a side.
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP), also known as solar thermal electricity, is predicted to be able to harness enough of the sun's energy, especially in the southwestern United States, to provide large-scale, domestically secure, and environmentally friendly electricity. Concentrating Solar Power, too, is expected be fully competitive with conventional power-generating technologies within a decade.
Reference:
DOE: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: Solar Energy Technologies Program: Solar America Initiative: Planning Documents and Technical Roadmaps: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_america/planning.html
DOE: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: Solar Energy Technologies Program: Solar America Initiative: Publications: Technology Roadmaps: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_america/publications.html
DOE: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: Solar Energy Technologies Program: Technologies: Solar History Timeline: The Future: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_time_future.html
Research by Diane Meade
