DOE Outlines Research Needed to Improve Solar Energy Technologies
WASHINGTON, D.C. – To help achieve the Bush Administration’s goal of increased use of solar and other renewable forms of energy, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science has released a report describing the basic research needed to produce “revolutionary progress in bringing solar energy to its full potential in the energy marketplace.” The report resulted from a workshop of 200 scientists held earlier this year.
(I-Newswire) - “The tax credits contained in the historic energy bill signed by President Bush will greatly help expand the use of renewable energy,” said Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, Director of DOE’s Office of Science. “This research will help improve a critical component of renewable energy, solar technology, in the future. Increasing the use of renewable energy is a clear way to help meet our growing energy needs using environmentally-friendly power sources.”
“This report demonstrates the important contribution the entire scientific community can make to the development of new sustainable energy resources,” Orbach said. “Science and basic research can and must play a key role in addressing the energy security needs of our nation.”
Every hour more energy from sunlight strikes the Earth than is consumed on the planet in a year. Yet today, solar electricity provides only approximately one thousandth of the total electricity supply. The report notes that a “huge gap between our present use of solar energy and its enormous undeveloped potential defines a grand challenge in energy research” and that “sunlight is a compelling solution to our need for clean, abundant sources of energy in the future.”
The report notes that progress in the proposed research could lead to: artificial “molecular machines” that turn sunlight into chemical fuel; “smart materials” based on nature’s ability to transfer captured solar energy with no energy loss; self-repairing solar conversion systems; devices that absorb all the colors in the solar spectrum for energy conversion, not just a fraction; far more efficient solar cells created using nanotechnologies; and new materials for high-capacity, slow-release thermal storage.
The report further notes that revolutionary breakthroughs come only from basic research and that, “We must understand the fundamental principles of solar energy conversion and develop new materials that exploit them.”
Solar energy conversion systems fall into three categories: solar electricity, solar fuels and solar thermal systems. Workshop participants considered the potential of all three approaches. They identified 13 priority research directions with the “potential to produce revolutionary, not evolutionary, breakthroughs in materials and processes for solar energy utilization.” Cross-cutting research directions include: coaxing cheap materials to perform as well as expensive materials; developing new solar cell designs that surpass traditional efficiency limits; finding catalysts that enable inexpensive, efficient conversion of solar energy into chemical fuels; and developing materials for solar energy conversion infrastructure, such as transparent conductors and robust, inexpensive thermal management materials.
The Office of Basic Energy Sciences in DOE’s Office of Science organized the 2005 workshop on solar energy research needs. Two hundred scientists from the U.S., Europe and Asia examined the challenges to developing solar energy as a competitive energy source and identified the basic research directions that show promise to overcome these challenges. The workshop was the second in a series following the 2002 Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee study “Basic Research Needs to Assure a Secure Energy Future.” The first workshop examined basic research needs for the hydrogen economy.
The Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy Utilization report can be viewed and downloaded at: www.sc.doe.gov/bes/reports/files/SEU_rpt.pdf. Hard copies of the report are available upon request from the Office of Basic Energy Sciences at www.sc.doe.gov/bes.
Media contacts: Jeff Sherwood, 202/586-5806
Number: R-05-221
If you have questions regarding information in this press release contact the company listed below. I-Newswire.com is a press release service and not the author of this press release. The information that is on or available through this site is for informational purposes only and speaks only as of the particular date or dates of that information. As some companies / PR Agencies submit their press releases once per week/month or quarter, make sure check the official company website for accurate release dates as our site displays the I-Newswire.com distribution date only. We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of information on or available through this site, and we are not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in that information or for actions taken in reliance on that information.
Immerse yourself in mystery and magic with two exciting new casual games from Focus Multimedia and Big Fish Games Studios, one of the world’s leading casual game developers. Hidden Expedition Titanic and Azada join Focus’ popular Revival range of super-budget price games and are available in a store near you.
Edraw Max enables students, teachers and business professionals to reliably create and publish kinds of diagrams to represent any ideas. With large pre-drawn libraries and more than 4600 vector symbols, drawing couldn't be easier!
New range of cards launched to make you the cover star.Hallmark Cards in partnership with OK Magazine has launched an exclusive and exciting new range of greeting cards that gives people the chance to give family and friends the A-List treatment.
Many people choose not to pursue an accident claim. The reasons range from knowing the insurance company will settle; to they don't want the legal hassles and expense.
Many individuals and businesses have always purchased their personal computers from a well-known provider to pre-conceived specifications. Increasingly...
The effectiveness of SEO and PPC Services are directly related to the quality and quantity of the performance data that they have to work with. If you are seeking assistance in achieving a higher ranking on search engine results, then we suggest you visit RankYourWebsites.com, specialist in this area. If you have found your attempts at optimization to prove fruitless, the representatives at RankYourWebsites.com will have a solution to increase your traffic.
http://www.vineyardsforsalein.com/ - online island vineyard for sale, vineyard for sale paso, texas vineyard for sale, washington vineyard for sale, tuscany vineyard for sale, vineyard for sale santa, vineyard for sale California
Mark Flanagan, Managing Director of Manchester health and safety, food safety and fire safety consultancy, Shieldyourself, discussed the Scores on the Doors scheme when he made a guest appearance on the BBC’s 5 Live Radio Show recently.
