The SunShot Initiative’s 2030 Goal: 3¢ per Kilowatt Hour for Solar Electricity

Program Document · Thu Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 2016

OSTI ID:1344203

In 2011, when solar power comprised less than 0.1% of the U.S. electricity supply, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched the SunShot Initiative with the goal of making solar electricity cost-competitive with traditionally generated electricity by 2020 without subsidies. At the time, this meant reducing photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) prices by approximately 75% across the residential, commercial, and utility-scale sectors. For utility-scale solar, this target is a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of 6¢ per kilowatt hour (kWh)1. Rapid progress has been made in accelerating achievement of these cost reductions, and DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) sees clear pathways to meeting the SunShot 2020 cost targets on schedule.2 Enabled by the cost reductions to date, solar-generated electricity has become mainstream. In 2014 and 2015, solar represented about one-third of new electrical generating capacity installed in the United States Halfway through 2016, solar was supplying 1% of U.S. electricity demand and growing with an installed capacity of 30 gigawatts.

• Research Organization: EERE Publication and Product Library
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technology Office (EE-4S) (Solar Energy Technology Office Corporate)
• OSTI ID: 1344203
• Report Number(s): DOE/EE-1501; 7623
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

solar
2020 goals
2030 goals
SunShot
solar energy technologies office
pv
csp
utility-scale