Fall 2010

Recovery Act Report: Transforming the Economy Through Innovation

On August 24th, Vice President Biden unveiled a new report, "The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy through Innovation." View the Recovery Act Report (PDF 1.29 MB) 

According to this analysis, the U.S. is now on-track to achieve four major innovation breakthroughs thanks to Recovery Act investments:

Cutting the cost of solar power in half by 2015, putting it on par with the cost of retail electricity from the grid.

• The cost of power from rooftop solar panels will drop from $0.21 per kWh in 2009 to $0.10 per kWh in 2015, which is equivalent to typical household electricity rates.  The cost of power from utility-scale solar projects would drop from $0.13 per kWh today to $0.06 in 2015, which is equivalent to the cost of wholesale utility power.
• The cost of rooftop solar power could drop to as low as $0.06 per kWh by 2030. At that cost, solar power will be significantly cheaper than household electricity rates - and an average household could save more than $400 per year in electricity bills.
• The Recovery Act is also supporting scaling up manufacturing and deployment to much greater levels, both of which help to dramatically bring down the costs of new technologies.
• Some companies are reducing cost by scaling up manufacturing and deployment of the standard silicon solar panel. For example, the largest photovoltaic power plant in North America, the 25 MW DeSoto Solar Park in Pensacola, Florida, was funded in part by the Recovery Act. The power plant consists of over 90,000 solar panels and provides enough power for 3,000 homes.

Cutting the cost of batteries for electric vehicles by 70 percent between 2009 and 2015, putting the lifetime cost of an electric vehicle on par with that of its non-electric counterpart. This means that the cost of batteries for the typical all-electric vehicle will fall from $33,000 to $10,000, and the cost of typical plug-in hybrid batteries will drop from $13,000 to $4,000.

• This cost reduction by 2015 takes advantage of the latest technologies, ramping up manufacturing to much higher levels, and marching down the cost curve.
• Already, electric vehicles are becoming more affordable and accessible. In 2009, the only available electric-drive vehicle cost more than $100,000. Soon, the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt, starting at $25,000 and $33,000 respectively, will be available.
• A $10,000 battery for all-electric vehicles and a $4,000 battery for plug-in hybrid vehicles will mean that electric-drive cars are affordable and cost competitive with similar non-electric vehicles. At those battery costs, electric-drive cars actually will be less expensive to own over the life of the car than similar non-electric vehicles. What's more, these investments will make these less-expensive batteries lighter and more durable:
  • The weight of a typical electric-vehicle battery is forecasted to decrease by 33%, from 333 kilograms to 222 kilograms, by 2015. The lighter battery means a lighter car, which means less energy is needed to power the car.
  • A typical battery is expected to last 14 years in 2015 - more than three times as long as the current 4-year lifetime.

Doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity and U.S. renewable manufacturing capacity by 2012.

• Over $23 billion of Recovery Act investments support renewable energy. This means installing as much renewable energy generating capacity in the next three years as the U.S. had in the previous thirty.
• With Recovery Act funds, we will:
  • Double renewable energy capacity from the 28.8 GW of solar, wind, and geothermal generation that has been installed as of 2008, to 57.6 GW by the end of 2011. That's enough capacity to power 16.7 million homes.
  • Double renewable energy manufacturing capacity from an annual output of 6 GW of renewable equipment (like wind turbines or solar panels) to 12 GW by the end of 2011. This will increase the U.S. share of global manufacturing of solar photovoltaic modules from 8% of all production, to 14% by 2012.

Bringing the cost of a personal human genome map to under $1,000 in five years, allowing researchers to sequence 50 human genomes for the same cost as sequencing just one today.

• With a more affordable price tag, DNA information could become a routine part of medical care.  An inexpensive whole-genome DNA scan could help health care providers in the future choose effective, personalized treatments.
• This is welcome news, as scientists believe that being able to map and compare human genomes could unlock cures and insights into some of the most debilitating diseases existing today, while also creating many new skilled jobs in the process.
• Seven projects funded by the Recovery Act are attempting to drive down the cost of human genome sequencing, each with a different technological strategy.
• Success in this endeavor will mean that the promises of treatment offered by this science will not only be available to the super wealthy, but will be available to tens of millions of Americans in every corner of the country.

Vice President Biden was joined at the event by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and representatives from more than two dozen companies and research institutions that are leveraging Recovery Act investments to help make America a global leader in high-growth industries like electric vehicles and solar power.

Overall, the Recovery Act is investing $100 billion in science, technology and innovation projects across the country ranging from building a nationwide smart energy grid and health information technology infrastructure to growing the emerging electric vehicle industry, expanding broadband access and laying the groundwork for a nationwide high speed rail system.  More information on investments the Administration is making in innovation through the Recovery Act and other means can be viewed at the new Innovation page launched on WhiteHouse.gov today.