DOE invests in the future of solar technology
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) invested $21.7 million into 25 projects designed to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional electricity by 2015.
By Plant Engineering Staff
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) invested $21.7 million into 25 projects designed to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional electricity by 2015. Nineteen of the projects involve universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University; the other six projects include companies such as Wakonda Technologies, Fairport, N.Y.; Solexant, Sunnyvale, Calif.; and Mayaterials Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich.
The DOE is investing $800,000 each in Solexant and Mayaterials for continued research into next-generation photovoltaic projects. Solexant will develop inexpensive and inorganic photovoltaic cells, which will harvest more energy than conventional methods, and Mayaterials will obtain solar-grade silicon from agricultural byproducts. Wakonda Technologies will receive $900,000 for the application of low-cost conventional thin-film manufacturing techniques to the production of large area, high-efficiency multi-junction photovoltaics.
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2012 Salary Survey
In a year when manufacturing continued to lead the economic rebound, it makes sense that plant manager bonuses rebounded. Plant Engineering’s annual Salary Survey shows both wages and bonuses rose in 2012 after a retreat the year before.
Average salary across all job titles for plant floor management rose 3.5% to $95,446, and bonus compensation jumped to $15,162, a 4.2% increase from the 2010 level and double the 2011 total, which showed a sharp drop in bonus.