Title: The U.S. Department of Energy`s role in commercialization of solar thermal electric technology
Abstract: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has supported the development of solar thermal electric (STE) technology since the early 1970s. From its inception, the program has held a long-term goal of nurturing STE technologies from the research and development (R&D) stage through technology development, ultimately leading to commercialization. Within the last few years, the focus of this work -has shifted from R&D to cost-shared cooperative projects with industry. These projects are targeted not just at component development, but at complete systems, marketing approaches, and commercialization plans. This changing emphasis has brought new industry into the program and is significantly accelerating solar thermal`s entry into the marketplace. Projects such as Solar Two in the power tower area, a number of dish/Stirling joint ventures in the modular power area, and operations and maintenance (O&M) cost reduction studies will be discussed as examples of this new focus.