Monday, October 19, 2009 at 11:13:38 AM - by Danny Vo

The Solar Technology Roadmap Act, HR 3585, sponsored by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) has gone through committee and is making its way to the House floor (Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 169, Oct. 15).

It proposes to put the U.S Department of Energy (DoE, or DOE) in the driver’s seat of an initiative to push solar energy research in such a way that it reaches commercialization.

The effort is real, the cost – a mere $2.25 billion – large enough to fund cutting-edge technology, but not large enough to draw the financial vultures, and the proposal a distinct 360 from the Bush era, which was more likely to raid government renewable energy funding and divert it into conventional energy (read oil and gas) channels.

There are those who argue that government agencies are too hidebound and riddled with corruption to accomplish anything. The DoE, under incoming head Steven Chu, is such a radical departure from that norm that even traditional DoE critics are holding their breath, and their scathing comments.

The DoE has four technology labs at its disposal, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL, working on concentrating solar thermal), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and Argonne National Laboratory. Argonne is the oldest, and the cutting-edge developments coming out of these labs (superconductor wire and cable for the Tres Amigas hub, for example) are nothing less than, well, revolutionary. Especially from an agency that previously appeared to have its head in the sands (tar sands, to be precise).

The DoE is also the impetus behind the Solar Decathlon, which this year showed the world that zero-energy homes are not only possible, but entirely livable. The media has snapped this up in a big way, producing no less than 293 articles on solar-powered, energy efficient homes that give “habitable” a whole new meaning. One house, from the University of Texas at Austin, even has a solar-thermal powered hot tub.

The DoE, as lead solar agency, plans to identify the best research available that puts solar on a (financial and performance) footing with traditional energy sources, reduce the costs of getting it into the commercial marketplace, and minimize (where possible) negative environmental impacts like excessive water use and land siting. It will also smooth the way for a lot of collaboration, not only within government, but across the solar industry as a whole, from R&D to production and sales.

Once the bill is approved, it will also be subject to review every three years, making sure the DoE’s eyes are focused on the same ball as industry’s. Ultimately, the bill is intended to make the United States a world solar leader, with production capability brought home where it should be.