Author: US DOE EERE Staff   Published: 2/8/2024    EERE

Solar Energy Technologies Office

What’s New?

DOE Selects First Grand Prize Winner in Perovskite Startup Prize

DOE awarded $600,000 to Verde Technologies for winning the Liftoff Contest in its American-Made Perovskite Startup Prize, a competition designed to accelerate the development and manufacturing of perovskite solar cells by moving world-class research out of the lab and into new U.S. companies.

Meet the Solar District Cup Class of 2024

DOE announced that 60 student-led teams from 53 collegiate institutions are finalists in the Solar District Cup. The teams are working to complete their concepts for distributed energy solar-plus-storage solutions as they gain practice with industry tools and procedures and prepare for careers in the renewable energy industry. View the full list of finalists.

Upcoming Deadlines Don’t forget to participate in these funding opportunities, prizes, and solicitations: Hands-On Photovoltaic Experience (HOPE) Workshop – PhD students and professors in photovoltaics (PV) can apply for the 2024 workshop through February 15. Solar Manufacturing Internship for Leaders in Energy (SMILE) Program – Undergraduate students from minority serving institutions (MSIs) can apply to SETO’s SMILE Program until February 16 for the opportunity to intern at companies in SETO’s portfolio for 10 weeks this summer. *Deadline Extended* Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (sCO2) Request for Information (RFI) – Members of the renewable energy industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other relevant organizations can submit feedback through February 20. Receivers and Reactors for Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (CSP) Plants and Solar Industrial Process Heat RFI – Members of the renewable energy industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other relevant organizations can submit feedback through February 20. Supporting Successful Solar Plus Storage Deployment Serving Low-Income and Disadvantaged Communities RFI – Industry, state, Tribal, local government agencies, community-based organizations, and others are invited to respond by February 23. 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

How Extreme Weather and System Aging Affect the U.S. PV Fleet

We leave solar panels outside in the wind, rain, sun, and snow for decades. How are they holding up? With a massive set of performance data from 2,500 PV systems, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers are quantifying the small but significant impacts of extreme weather and long-term degradation on the U.S. PV fleet. Almost all systems are aging as expected, but the results also offer important lessons for the PV industry.

Apply to Be a Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship Host Institution

DOE launched the third round of its Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship, a workforce development program that matches recent graduates and new energy professionals to energy organizations. Host institution applications are now open through March 5 to electric public utility commissions, electric cooperatives and municipal utilities, Tribal utilities, grid operators, and more.

Training for Solar Financing Drives an Equitable Energy Transition

Community-based lending professionals help community members buy their first home, obtain better financial footing, and even enter the clean energy transition. SETO is funding the University of New Hampshire’s trainings for community-based lenders serving low-income and underrepresented communities who are working to expand access to clean energy in these areas through climate financing.

DOE Announces Millions in Vouchers to Support Organizations to Accelerate Clean Energy Technology Adoption 

DOE announced 111 entities to receive support in advancing their clean energy technologies, valued at $9.8 million. The in-kind commercialization support will be provided by 33 supporting organizations in the form of DOE-funded vouchers. The Voucher Program is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as part of the Technology Commercialization Fund.

Apply to the Faculty-Based Program Promoting Diversity in Clean Energy Science and Education

Faculty from MSIs are encouraged to apply for the Faculty-Applied Clean Energy Sciences (FACES) Program, a new research opportunity. Participants will spend 10 weeks over the summer working with NREL researchers to develop education modules. A stipend and travel reimbursement are available. Apply to the FACES Program by February 15.

EERE is Looking for a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy

The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy (DAS-RE) serves as the most senior official within the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The position focuses exclusively on renewable power and energy programs, policies, and initiatives that aim to decarbonize the electric power grid and offer more choices for affordable, reliable, and clean energy. Dynamic and creative executives can apply by February 19.

Upcoming Events

RE+ Northeast

February 13-14 | Boston, MA
Catch SETO’s systems integration program manager, Dr. Guohui Yuan, who will be speaking on a panel about securing solar energy and mitigating risks in the growing industry.

2024 National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP) Annual Summit

February 14 | 12 p.m. ET | Virtual
Join the NCSP virtually to connect with others in the community solar industry and learn how community solar can deploy benefits and deliver impact at scale.

Concentrating Solar Receiver and Reactors Webinar

February 15 | 12 p.m. ET
SETO is hosting a virtual workshop on solar receivers and reactors for CSP and solar-thermal decarbonization.

2024 Innovative Smart Grid Technologies (ISGT) North America

February 19-22 | Washington, D.C.
Hear from SETO’s Dr. Guohui Yuan, who will be participating on a panel on the role of electromagnetic transient simulations in a resilient and reliable future power grid.

Supercritical CO2 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 CSP.

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.

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.

Virtual Tutorial Series: Open-source Tools & Open-access Solar Data

March 2024 | 3 p.m. ET | Virtual

• 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).