Solar Decathlon 2007

Podcasts: Sponsor BP Solar's Lee Edwards Discusses Solar Energy (Text Version)

Below is the text version of the podcast recorded by the BP Solar's Lee Edwards. Visit the Solar Decathlon Podcasts section to subscribe to the podcast or download individual audio files.

Male Speaker (MS):

This is a special 2007 Solar Decathlon edition of Energy Buzz, the podcast series produced by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. Energy Buzz brings you expert information about renewable energy and energy efficiency.

MS:

This is BP Solar's podcast for the 2007 Solar Decathlon. Our guest today is Lee Edwards, President and CEO of BP Solar. Lee, why is BP, one of the world's largest energy companies, involved in the solar energy industry and a sponsor of the Solar Decathlon?

Lee Edwards (LE):

Well, BP has long been involved in solar. We've had a business model in place for more than 30 years, and we see it as a natural extension of meeting the world's energy demands as we look into the future. There is no question that the world more than ever is looking for more secure and clean sources of energy. Solar has been, as I said, in existence for over 30 years. It is a global business.

While we have manufacturing here in the United States in Frederick, Maryland, we also have facilities manufacturing solar cells and panels in Madrid, Spain; and Banglore, India; and Jihan, China; and in Sydney, Australia. So it's a great opportunity for us to have a growing and profitable business. And in combination, the Solar Decathlon gives us the opportunity to participate with those that are making the solar energy industry as exciting a place as it is.

And that means we have the next generation of new ideas coming together from very diverse teams from twenty universities around the world. These teams have engineers, they have architects, they have, in some cases, nutritionists. They are all an effort to find ways to design, build, and live in new ideas for living spaces. Where they are actually showing through example and application how more energy efficient homes can be as livable as any home you can imagine and they can be as beautiful as well.

MS:

With the growing awareness of climate change issues, there certainly seems to be increased interest in solar energy. Realistically, what role is solar energy likely to play going forward?

LE:

The role of solar is still, in my view, on the inflection point of what it can be for the future. So when you look back, despite the fact that solar energy solutions have been available for at least 30 years or more, I see the future as being a trajectory of significant impact to the energy mix for the planet. And it's in that regard that we think this is, we are creating a great opportunity for business to help overcome some of the short-term energy challenges that the world faces.

When you look at the overall energy mix, it is only right to say that solar today is a very small piece. But if you go out 50 years or 100 years, I am convinced that solar will be the dominant energy source for the planet. It is local, it is clean, it is safe. And with increasing technology breakthroughs for efficiency and lowering the cost, it will become the primary source of energy in the long-term. Now in the short-term, in the next five to ten years, we see one of the highest growth rates of energy any of the energy alternatives available.

MS:

What are BP's goals for solar?

LE:

Well our goals, my goals in particular allow the solar business at BP to be mainstream. This is going to show a combination of significant profitable growth for the business, but maybe more importantly, growth through the application of new technology and new innovation to allow the costs to the customer to be reduced, so solar becomes more affordable in more places and we can increase our overall efficiency of manufacturing and production around the world.

What we are trying to do is ultimately get the cost of the solar in terms of cents per kilowatt-hour, to be equal to and competitive with the traditional sources of power that customers are given choices with today. Once we do that, their reliance on subsidies from policymakers go away and there is a natural and obvious market growth for solar to reach our true and full potential in the world.

But it will take a collaboration, not just with the solar industry, but with policymakers, with the next generation of students and new ideas coming out of universities. And it also requires the idea that across the value chain, we will need to collaborate with customers, with other companies in the value chain, with new sources of technology and research and development, as well as with the policymakers, as I mentioned.

So these are the things that I would like to see and I believe is possible and within reach. It is a unique business challenge that takes more than one effort across multiple organizations to make it work. But now is absolutely the time that we should do more and give it our best effort to get solar as a more prominent source of energy in the world.

MS:

For listeners who may be thinking about solar for their own homes, where can they go for more information?

LE:

For us, I can recommend a couple of things. One is the bpsolar.us website has got a great deal of information for those interested within the United States. There is another website that is put together and managed by those that actually install systems on rooftops called www.Find-Solar.Org.

MS:

Since the Solar Decathlon is aimed at getting college students interested in solar technology, what advice would you have for students who might be interested in a career in the solar industry?

LE:

It's one of the great benefits of a growing industry, like solar, and many other renewable energy sectors as well is that as we grow, we need more people with new ideas around the world. And one of the things that I would like to offer in solar, as you can see from the participants in the decathlon themselves, we have multiple discipline opportunities across a wide variety of subjects. So it's not just the engineers who have the expertise and the technology within the design of the solar cell. It's the architects that have good ideas as to how we can design more esthetically pleasing systems for integration, and it's sales and marketing, accounting and finance. It's a wide range of opportunities that you see becoming key to delivery as the industry grows.

MS:

Any closing comments or thoughts about the Solar Decathlon?

LE:

Well, this is the third event. BP Solar has been, with the help of BP sponsorship involved in all three, and it is a great opportunity to really see what can be done in an innovative and growing space. The designs of the homes are absolutely great. The innovations and new ideas that have been applied are, by all means, worth seeing.

There is a unique buzz about this when you get the combination of students and policymakers and companies that are there to help support the efforts coming together in the decathlon. I think it's important that we thank, as one of the sponsors, all of those that have been involved in making this event such an important part of the solar energy future. And that includes many from the Department of Energy, many from the universities themselves who have administrators that were willing to put forth the effort to make these programs work.

And more importantly, the students on the teams that have worked so hard over the last couple of years to design, build and now live in the homes themselves. And last, but not least, selfishly I would like to thank all of the employees of BP Solar in our Frederick facility. We spend a lot of time getting ready for this event and a lot of volunteers from the company actually go down to the mall and help out during the exhibits themselves. And they really are proud to bring their family and friends to show what great new things can be brought to the world of solar energy.

MS:

Thank you, Lee, for sharing your vision for BP Solar and your thoughts on the 2007 Solar Decathlon. On behalf of BP Solar, BP America and all of the participants in the 2007 Solar Decathlon, thank you for listening to our podcast.

MS:

This has been a special edition of Energy Buzz. To learn more about the Solar Decathlon, go to www.solardecathlon.org. For more about the world of energy efficiency and renewable energy, log on to the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy website at www.eere.energy.gov. Thank you for listening.

END SHOW