U.S. to invest more in solar power

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Putting $12 million in hardware and pilot projects in the solar power sector will provide much-needed stimulus to the U.S. economy, an official said.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the White House was putting $12 million behind hardware and the development of pilot programs tied to the solar power sector.

"Investments in American energy and manufacturing are critical building blocks for an American economy built to last," he said in a statement.

U.S. President Barack Obama in his 2011 State of the Union address laid out a clean-energy target of meeting 80 percent of U.S. energy needs with clean sources by 2035.

The so-called SunShot program by the U.S. government aims to spur American innovations to reduce the cost of solar energy. The Energy Department said it's invested $60 million in an incubator program meant to help new solar power concepts at small businesses.

"The SunShot Incubator program fosters the innovative small businesses that will rapidly bring technological advances to market and pioneer a new era in American energy," said Chu.