The Future of Solar Energy

Today’s solar technology traces its roots back to the development of the silicon solar cell by Bell Labs in 1954. However, it has only been in the past decade that solar energy has become a significant contributor to our electricity supply, supplying 3% of U.S. electricity in 2020. Looking forward, solar deployment has the potential to grow further, by an order of magnitude, and to contribute significantly to the decarbonization of electricity supply. To do this, solar technology needs continued advancements to improve performance and decrease costs. Solar inverters need to provide grid services to support a reliable and secure electricity grid. Further, solar technologies can become more holistically integrated with buildings, agricultural production and other end uses. This talk will describe a vision for the future of solar energy technology and priorities for the next decade of solar research.