Magnolia Solar Corporation announced today that it will be a key partner in the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium, a major new initiative that will be funded from a $57.5 million grant by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The consortium will be located at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the University at Albany, and will greatly enhance Magnolia Solar's work developing and commercializing revolutionary new thin film solar cell technologies.
The PVMC is a partnership led by CNSE and SEMATECH, with over 80 companies, universities, and high-tech laboratories committed to joining the alliance that will provide a major boost to the United States' photovoltaic manufacturing industry. The consortium is designed to develop new photovoltaic manufacturing technologies, streamline their introduction into the global marketplace, and help the United States gain a greater market share of this growing industry.
Funding for the consortium came from the the Department of Energy (DOE) SunShot Initiative, which aims to reduce the total costs of photovoltaic solar energy systems by about 75 percent so that solar energy becomes cost-competitive with other forms of energy by the end of the decade. Achieving this goal -- equivalent to approximately $1 per watt or roughly 6 cents per kilowatt-hour for utility systems -- would allow solar energy systems to be broadly deployed across the country.
With financial commitments totaling $400 million from state and corporate entities, along with funding from the DOE, the consortium will hit the ground running, providing an immediate boost to this critical manufacturing sector.
