Author: US DOE EERE Staff Published: 2/23/2024 DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office
Solar Energy Technologies Office
What’s Inside: Solar Snapshot, the newsletter of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), shares recent announcements; deadlines; upcoming events; and more.
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Estimated read time: 5 minutes, 20 seconds
What’s New?
2024 National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP) Annual Summit
At the fourth annual NCSP Summit, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Jeff Marootian challenged the solar industry to triple community solar by the end of 2025. NCSP announced the goal in 2021 and estimated that powering 5 million households and deploying 20 gigawatts of community solar would create $1 billion in energy savings for subscribers.
Jeff Marootian at the 2024 NCSP Summit challenges the solar industry to triple community solar deployment in three years.
The Technical Potential and Meaningful Benefits of Community Solar
In a new report, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates that if all technically viable community solar is deployed, it could serve more than 53 million households and over 300,000 businesses in the United States that cannot access rooftop solar. Register for a webinar about the report on February 28 at 3 p.m. ET.
New Model for Siting Community Solar
NCSP announced a new model, developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, that identifies the most cost-effective ways community solar and storage can be sited on the grid, with a focus on minimizing interconnection costs and maximizing deployment. DOE seeks utilities and electric public utility commissions to participate in the pilot program for the Least-Cost Optimal Distribution Grid Expansion (LODGE) model. For more information about the LODGE model and pilot program, register for a webinar on March 7 at 11 a.m. ET.
Join the New Equitable Solar Communities of Practice
NCSP announced the organizations chosen to lead five communities of practice that will work to identify resource gaps, support the development and dissemination of best practices and resources, and identify and propose new resources, tools, and technical assistance offerings needed to scale equitable solar. Interested in supporting the expansion of equitable benefits in solar adoption? Complete the program interest form today.
Upcoming Deadlines
Don’t forget to participate in these funding opportunities, prizes, and solicitations:
- Supporting Successful Solar Plus Storage Deployment Serving Low-Income and Disadvantaged Communities Request for Information – Industry, state, Tribal, local government agencies, community-based organizations, and others are invited to respond by February 23.
- Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship Host Institutions – State public utility commissions, grid operators, and cooperative and municipal utilities are encouraged to apply by March 5.
- Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS) Funding Opportunity – Diverse teams from universities, federally funded research and development centers, nonprofits, community-based organizations, state agencies, local governments, and solar developers are encouraged to apply by March 6.
Some Light ? Reading
Students from Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) Engage in Solar Research and Professional Development
Twenty students from SETO’s Solar Technology Research Program (STRP) with the MSI STEM Research and Development Consortium (MSRDC) participated in the first STRP Research Trainee Meeting at the University of the District of Columbia. Participants networked, explored career options, and engaged in groundbreaking research in solar technology and engineering.
Learn About Solar Systems Integration Research at SETO
Hear from members of SETO’s systems integration team in this new video as they explain the important research that they support to enable solar grid integration while ensuring the reliability, resilience, and security of the electric power system.
Learn About Solar Systems Integration Research at SETO
Hear from members of SETO’s systems integration team in this new video as they explain the important research that they support to enable solar grid integration while ensuring the reliability, resilience, and security of the electric power system.
Learn About Solar Systems Integration Research at SETO
Hear from members of SETO’s systems integration team in this new video as they explain the important research that they support to enable solar grid integration while ensuring the reliability, resilience, and security of the electric power system.
SETO’s systems integration research supports technologies and solutions that enable solar grid integration while ensuring the reliability, resilience, and security of the electric power system.
First-Ever SolSmart Platinum Designation
Fremont, California became the first local government to earn the SolSmart Platinum designation for prioritizing solar energy deployment, including adopting the Solar Automated Permit Processing+ (SolarAPP+) platform to automate residential solar permitting.
Making Solar Work for Everybody—Helping Envision a More Just Energy System
Solar energy deployment is rapidly expanding, creating opportunities for solar energy to benefit communities equitably. Find out more about some of the SETO-funded projects helping more communities benefit from solar energy.
New Prize Supports Early-Stage Community Energy Planning
DOE just launched the $5 million Solutions for Lasting, Viable Energy Infrastructure Technologies (SOLVE IT) Prize, which aims to support communities by providing financial support for identifying and planning innovative clean energy solutions. Apply by April 12.
Researchers Release Solar Power Data Software to Increase Clean Energy Generation
Researchers at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have published a software tool that sorts through data to reveal what goes on with solar panels on cloudy and sunny days.
Products & Publications
- Nova Analysis: Holistically Valuing the Contributions of Residential Efficiency, Solar and Storage – NREL
- Nova Analysis Final Technical Report – NREL
- Solar Photovoltaics (PV) and Land-Based Wind Technical Potential and Supply Curves for the Contiguous United States: 2023 Edition – NREL
Upcoming Events
Supercritical CO2 (sCO2) Power Cycles Symposium
February 26-29 | San Antonio, TX
Join SETO’s Dr. Matt Bauer who will be presenting keynote remarks about sCO2 power cycles for concentrating solar-thermal power.
2024 PV Reliability Workshop
February 27-29 | Lakewood, CO
Participate in NREL’s annual PV Reliability Workshop where experts convene to discuss the latest findings in PV reliability. Submit your presentation and register to attend.
Webinar: Achieving Scale – Community Technical Potential and Meaningful Benefits in the United States
February 28 | 3 p.m. ET | Virtual
Register for NREL’s webinar about the new SETO-funded report, “Technical Potential and Meaningful Benefits of Community Solar in the United States.” Researchers will describe the methodology and results from this study on the technical potential of community solar and associated meaningful benefits.
Systems Integration Webinar
February 28 | 3 p.m. ET | Virtual
The SETO systems integration team’s monthly webinar will focus on the analysis of a new hybrid PV plant.
PV Circularity Workshop
March 3-6 | Lakewood, CO
The 2024 PV Circularity Workshop will foster research and collaboration on decarbonizing the global PV industry. Experts will convene at NREL to discuss how to increase the sustainability of this growing industry.
Webinar: Interconnection Resources for Utilities and Regulatory Commissions
March 7 | 11 a.m. ET | Virtual
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is hosting a webinar about the LODGE Model and the Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) initiative, both of which are tools for improving interconnection and offering assistance throughout the process.
Virtual Tutorial Series: Open-source Tools & Open-access Solar Data
March 2024 | 3 p.m. ET | Virtual
Join SETO and NREL for their three-part tutorial series about open-source tools and open-access solar data.
- Part 1: Introduction to the Solar Data Bounty Prize and Data Sets | March 13 – This session will include an introduction to the Solar Data Bounty Prize and the data sets acquired through the prize. It will include a demonstration on how to access the data and a look ahead at lab tools.
- Part 2: Analytics and Quality Tools | March 19 – Some data obtained from the Solar Data Bounty Prize will be evaluated in demonstrations with PVAnalytics, RdTools, and solar data tools.
- Part 3: Modeling Tools | March 21 – This session will demonstrate the use of data obtained from the Solar Data Bounty Prize with modeling tools like pvlib-python and the system advisor model (SAM).
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In Case You Missed It
Webinar: Concentrating Solar Receivers and Reactors