National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Photovoltaic Research
National Center for Photovoltaics
The National Center for Photovoltaics (NCPV) focuses on innovations in PV technology that drive industry growth in photovoltaic manufacturing nationwide. Below is a graphic illustrating a collaborative response to market need. By working together, government, academic, and private entities address technical challenges with stronger solutions and benefits to PV.
Mission
To help the U.S. photovoltaic industry maintain a competitive position, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) created the National Center for Photovoltaics (NCPV)-now part of the DOE Solar Energy Technologies Program.
NCPV Organization
The NCPV is a central resource for our nation's capabilities in PV research, development, deployment, and outreach, uniting diverse research initiatives into a single coordinated effort.
The NCPV promotes results-oriented partnerships and alliances.
The NCPV draws on the core expertise of DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories to guide operations and coordinate support from other national PV resources, which include:
- Brookhaven National Laboratory
- DOE's University Centers of Excellence in PV—the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Institute of Energy Conversion at the University of Delaware
- DOE's Regional Experiment Stations—the Southeast Regional Experiment Station and the Southwest Technology Development Institute
- Many University and Industry Partners
The NCPV strengthens our nation's competitiveness in Photovoltaics R&D and markets.
Primary goals that will lead to greater competitiveness include:
- Enhancing cell, module, and system performance
- Boosting product system reliability, durability, and lifetime
- Simplifying system installation
- Sparking technological innovation
- Ensuring U.S. technology ownership