Concentrating Solar Power (Fact Sheet)

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) offers a utility-scale, firm, dispatchable renewable energy option that can help meet the nation's goal of making solar energy cost competitive with other energy sources by the end of the decade. The DOE SunShot Initiative is a collaborative national initiative to make solar energy technologies cost-competitive with other forms of energy by reducing the cost of solar energy systems by about 75% by the end of the decade. Reducing the total installed cost for utility-scale solar electricity to roughly 6 cents per kilowatt hour without subsidies will result in rapid, large-scale adoption of solar electricity across the United States. Reaching this goal will re-establish American technological leadership, improve the nation's energy security, and strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness in the global clean energy race. SunShot will work to bring down the full cost of solar - including the costs of solar cells and installation by focusing on four main pillars: (1) Technologies for solar cells and arrays that convert sunlight to energy; (2) Electronics that optimize the performance of the installation; (3) Improvements in the efficiency of solar manufacturing processes; and (4) Installation, design, and permitting for solar energy systems