Lessons Learned from the Photovoltaic Manufacturing Technology/PV Manufacturing R&D and Thin Film PV Partnership Projects

As the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Solar Energy Technologies Program initiates new cost-shared solar energy R&D under the Solar America Initiative (SAI), it is useful to analyze the experience gained from cost-shared R&D projects that have been funded through the program to date. This report summarizes lessons learned from two DOE-sponsored photovoltaic (PV) projects: the PhotovoltaicManufacturing Technology/PV Manufacturing R&D (PVMaT/PVMR&D) project and the Thin-Film PV Partnership project. During the past 10-15 years, these two projects have invested roughly $330 million of government resources in cost-shared R&D and leveraged another $190 million in private-sector PV R&D investments. Following a description of key findings and brief descriptions of the PVMaT/PVMR&D andThin-Film PV Partnership projects, this report presents lessons learned from the projects.