On April 8, 2011, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US Department of Energy (DoE) announced a joint funding opportunity for the Foundational Program to Advance Cell Efficiency, which will provide $39 million for research to improve photovoltaic cell performance, as well as module cost reduction for grid-scale commercial applications. Solar cells that are more efficient and cost competitive could bring America significantly closer to a sustainable energy future. (Image: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory/Roy Kaltschmidt) This collaborative effort is one of four programs in the SunShot Initiative recently announced by DoE Secretary Steven Chu. The initiative aims to make solar energy technologies cost-competitive with other forms of energy by reducing the price of solar energy systems by about 75 percent before 2020. According to the initiative, reducing the total installed cost for utility-scale solar electricity to roughly $1 per watt will result in rapid, large-scale adoption of solar electricity across the country. “NSF aims to create breakthroughs for sustainable energy through its investment in basic research,” said Robert Trew, director of the NSF Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems. “We hope this collaboration with DoE will bring America significantly closer to a sustainable energy future.” For more information, visit: www.nsf.gov