Energy Department to Make $59 Million Investment in Solar Energy

The Energy Department on January 29 announced in excess of $59 million in backing to support solar energy innovation. The Department is making $45 million in backing accessible to quickly move innovative solar manufacturing technologies to market and is also awarding in excess of $14 million to 15 new plans that will help communities develop multi-year solar deployment projects to install solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity in homes, businesses, and communities.

The $45 million Technology to Market backing opportunity is part of the Department's Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative, aimed at boosting U.S. competitiveness and supporting a strong, domestic, manufacturing sector for clean energy. This backing opportunity combines 3 historically separate SunShot Initiative backing programs-Incubator, Solar Manufacturing Technology, and Scaling Up Nascent PV at Home-into one that will support plans with the potential to significantly reduce the costs for solar energy systems across a variety of technology areas. Concept papers are due on February 24, 2015. See the backing opportunity announcement.

The 15 Solar Market Pathways plans pursue various approaches to developing actionable solar deployment projects and strategies to promote deployment at residential, community, and commercial scales. The awardees include nonprofits, utilities, industry associations, universities, and state and local jurisdictions in California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as Washington, D.C. See the Energy Department news release.

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