WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, released the following statement applauding news that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) a grant totaling $500,000 to develop high-efficiency solar panels. The researchers involved will include underrepresented minority undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, this grant funding will be used to train the next generation workforce for solar energy jobs in Nevada at community colleges and UNLV.
“During this period of economic and climate crises, the need to support our workforce, especially in growing industries like solar and clean energy, is more urgent than ever,” said Senator Rosen. “This grant funding will train Nevadans from underrepresented backgrounds to find new career paths in the solar energy industry and support Nevada’s workforce to develop the skills needed to succeed in a 21st-century economy. I will continue working to empower Nevada workers as we overcome the effects of this pandemic and put the Silver State back on a path toward clean energy development, workforce growth, and economic expansion.”
BACKGROUND: The National Science Foundation (NSF) supports research, innovation, and discovery that provides the foundation for economic growth in this country. By advancing the frontiers of science and engineering, the NSF helps put our nation on a path toward the development of cutting-edge technologies needed to address the challenges we face today and will face in the future.
More specifically, this grant funding will be used to develop high-efficiency Pb-free perovskite solar cells and determine the stability of these novel materials by developing air-stable and low defect density Pt-Ni and Sn-Ge based perovskite solar cells.
This funding will also be used to train the next generation workforce for solar energy jobs in Nevada at community colleges and UNLV. Dedicated workshop series to identify the fundamental roadblocks for development of high efficiency and Pb-free perovskite materials will be hosted in collaboration with academia and industry partners.
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