renewable energy - The MIT Energy Initiative: Sustainable Energy and Terawatt-Scale Photovoltaics

Google Tech Talk November 5, 2009 ABSTRACT This MITEI on the Road event will open with a brief overview of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) by Daniel Enderton, Executive Director of MITEIs Sustainable Energy Revolution Program (SERP). This overview will highlight the extensive depth and breadth of research, education, campus energy and outreach activities underway as part of the Initiative. Mr. Enderton will give particular focus on the SERP program, with highlights of successful past projects in storage, promising new projects in geothermal and the impact philanthropy is having on renewable energy research at MIT. Following this, Professor Tonio Buonassisi of Mechanical Engineering will give a presentation describing the key technical challenges to scaling commercial PV technologies to the terawatt level. The speaker will present a vision for the role of university engineering and science towards surmounting these challenges, drawing from personal experience in the solar industry, national laboratories, and academia. Increased solar cell conversion efficiencies, novel materials, and decreased capital equipment costs will be discussed as a means to achieve rapidly scalable manufacturing, highlighting the role of innovation. technologies and how they will help drive down the cost of solar technology to be competitive with petroleum-based alternatives, while Mr. Enderton will give an overview of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and information on other renewable energy <b>...</b>