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Once feasible only as the energy source for expensive satellites, solar energy is now often both cheaper and more efficient than coal power. Since 1976, the cost per watt of solar energy has fallen by 99.6% while the efficiency of solar photovoltaics has risen dramatically.iThis success is due in large part to basic research, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been at the forefront of this solar research for decades.  

NREL is a federally funded research and development center, housed within the Department of Energy and based in Colorado. Its mission is to advance the science and engineering that made rapid deployment, and thus falling costs, of renewable energy possible. NREL is known for consistently breaking records for the efficiency that cells can convert solar energy to electricity. In 1994, NREL researchers developed the first solar cell to cross 30% efficiency (see REF2). As of 2022, NREL still holds the record for the highest efficiency among any non-concentrator solar cell, at 39.5%, having broken their own previous record of 39.2% set in 2020.iiWhile these records are for expensive experimental prototypes, NREL has also played a role in developing thin-film solar cells, which are among the least expensive and most portable options for consumers.  

Today, the solar industry is large enough for companies to house their own R&D departments. Government labs like NREL will continue to create cutting-edge, pre-commercial technology that builds the foundation for the industries of tomorrow.

Endnotes

• iMax Roser, "Why did renewables become so cheap so fast?", https://ourworldindata.org/cheap-renewables-growth; National Renewable Energy Laboratory, "Best Research-Cell Efficiency Chart," https://www.nrel.gov/pv/cell-efficiency.html.
• iiNational Renewable Energy Laboratory, "News Release: NREL Creates Highest Efficiency 1-Sun Solar Cell," https://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2022/nrel-creates-highest-efficiency-1-sun-solar-cell.html.