US Budgets $40Mln To Research Grid-Scale Storage Of Solar Power - Energy Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th October, 2021) The US government will fund 40 projects with grants totaling $40 million to develop the next generation of technologies to convert sunlight to electricity and store the power for extended periods, the Department of Energy said on Tuesday.

"We are laser focused on deploying more solar power and developing more cost-effective technologies to decarbonize our electricity system," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a press release. "The 40 projects announced today - led by universities and private industry across the country - is an investment in the next generation of innovations that will strengthen the nation's solar capacity and enhance our grid resilience."

The effort includes three projects to develop long-duration thermal energy storage, which can store and deliver at least ten hours of electricity whenever it is needed, the release said.

Concentrated solar thermal power (CSP), as opposed to photovoltaic panels that make electricity directly from sunlight, captures heat from sunlight and uses that heat to generate electricity or to support carbon free industrial processes, the release said.

Thirteen projects will develop technologies that can enable CSP plants to operate at very high temperatures, which are necessary to produce fuels and industrial chemicals, the release added.

The grants will also fund three research projects with the goal of extending the life of a typical photovoltaic panel from 30 to 50 years, according to the release.