Notes from the Solar Future Symposium

January 20, 2016

Michael Woodhouse, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Last November, I traveled to Saudi Arabia, a leading producer of oil, to deliver a keynote talk at the Solar Future 2015 Symposium.

Held at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the symposium covered topics including bottom-up cost model results for crystalline silicon and thin film photovoltaic (PV) module technologies, future opportunities for reductions in total PV systems costs, and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) analysis. Opportunities to reduce LCOE through research and development, and resulting impacts on future electricity capacity expansion, were also discussed.

My talk, "Considerations for Solar Energy Technologies to Make Progress Towards Grid Price Parity," explored value proposition of solar, benchmarking of PV component costs, and paths forward for solar energy. CEMAC methodologies contributed to the underlying analysis, and I enjoyed the opportunity to discuss these with researchers from around the world.