January 20, 2010—U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced January 15 the availability of more than $37 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support high-efficiency solid-state lighting projects.
Solid-state lighting (SSL), which uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) instead of incandescent bulbs, has the potential to be ten times more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent lighting, says the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
Lighting accounts for approximately 24% of the total electricity generated in the United States today, adds EERE. By 2030, the development and widespread deployment of cost-effective solid-state lighting could reportedly reduce electricity use for lighting by one-third nationally.
The selected projects address the full spectrum of core technology research ($4 million), product development ($10.3 million), and deployment/domestic manufacturing ($23.5 million) for solid-state lighting technologies. These 17 SSL awards will be leveraged with nearly $28.5 million in private industry cost share, for a total project value of more than $66 million.
