Grid-Competitive Residential and Commercial Fully Automated PV Systems Technology Project - is a three year project of the SunPower Corporation – one of the biggest manufacturers of solar panels, solar cells and solar systems, based in the Silicon Valley. Recently the project was awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) with cost-shared cooperative agreement, which gives the company the amount of $8,469,998 for the completion of its first project budget period, which is due to August 31, 2008. if the completion of this first stage of the project is successful and if the company sustains an execution of viable business strategy, the Department of energy will ensure another $16,230,002 for continued project implementation through June 30, 2010.

The total funding of this three year project comes up to $24.7 million. Major part in this funding has the Solar American Initiative (SAI), which goal is to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity by 2015. SAI highly supported SunPower’s statement to reduce installed system cost with 50 percent by the year 2012, as the popularity of the solar power increses among the population...

The only thing and practically the biggest holdback in the use of solar power energy is it’s high price. So by funding the project the U.S department of energy is trying to overcome this holdback and by that encourage mass use of solar power in the future.