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Large Animal and Solar System Operations (LASSO) Prize
SETO launched the $8 million American-Made LASSO Prize, which seeks to develop innovative co-location practices, build pilot sites, and share data on costs, business models, and outcomes associated with cattle agrivoltaics. Farmers, ranchers, solar developers, landowners, product designers, extension agents, and researchers are encouraged to form teams and submit Phase 1 applications by March 6, 2025.
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State-Based Collaboratives Funded to Support Renewable Energy Siting Solutions
DOE announced six state-based collaboratives receiving a total of $11.6 million through the Renewable Energy Siting through Technical Engagement and Planning (R-STEP) program. The collaboratives will evaluate stakeholder needs and develop state-specific educational materials and technical assistance programs to improve renewable energy planning, siting, and permitting processes for communities and industry.
Investments to Improve the Environmental Benefits of Solar Technologies
SETO selected four projects to receive more than $15 million to optimize the lifecycle of solar energy systems and minimize waste as part of the Materials, Operation, and Recycling of Photovoltaics (MORE PV) funding program.
Upcoming Prize for Sustainable Solar Manufacturing
DOE Under Secretary for Infrastructure, David Crane, announced the upcoming $2.7 million Promoting Registration of Inverters and Modules with Ecolabel (PRIME) Prize, which is designed to incentivize U.S. photovoltaics (PV) manufacturers to register their modules and inverters with the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) ecolabel, reducing the environmental impact of solar technologies. Follow the competition to learn about the official launch.
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Solar Prize Round 7 Winners
Following a live demo day where teams presented their solutions to a panel of judges, SETO Director Becca Jones-Albertus announced the two winners of the American-Made Solar Prize Round 7. Fram Energy and Gritt Robotics each won $500,000 cash. EmpowerSun Solutions and Illumination Solar Training won the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Contest prize, splitting the $50,000 prize pot.
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Coming Soon: New Solar Incubator Funding
SETO issued a notice of intent for new funding that will provide up to $20 million to advance innovative solar module technologies and de-risk solar hardware for a wide range of solar technology areas. Learn more about past Incubator awardees.
National Community Solar Partnership+ (NCSP+)
SETO expanded the National Community Solar Partnership, now NCSP+, beyond community solar to include low- to moderate-income rooftop solar, community-facing commercial solar, and distributed solar + storage, like virtual power plants and microgrids.
Community Power Accelerator
The Community Power Accelerator is an online platform that connects community solar developers with investors, philanthropists, and community-based organizations to get more equity-focused community solar projects financed and deployed. SETO is expanding the Accelerator to include community-benefitting distributed solar and solar + storage projects and announced round three of the Community Power Accelerator Prize. Register for an informational webinar on October 1 at 2 p.m. ET and apply to participate by December 17.
SETO released a request for information (RFI) to gather input on the market barriers and technical challenges for PVT systems, which combine standard PV panels with waste heat recovery systems. SETO is interested in hearing from industry, academia, research laboratories, state and local government agencies, and other stakeholders on four topic areas: business, technology, regulatory, and consumer. Submit your responses by December 31.
Don’t forget to participate in these funding opportunities, prizes, and solicitations:
- American-Made Solar Prize Round 8 – Innovative entrepreneurial teams with creative solutions to make solar energy more affordable, accessible, and efficient must submit applications by September 26.
- Solar District Cup Class of 2025 – The Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition is seeking student teams for the Class of 2025. Registration is free and open until September 26.
- Draft Distributed Energy Resource Interconnection Roadmap RFI – Interconnection stakeholders, such as utilities, grid operators, regulators, state and local governments, interconnection customers, energy justice groups, nonprofits, clean energy developers, public interest groups, Tribes, and trade associations can submit feedback through October 7.
- Innovative Queue Management Solutions for Clean Energy Interconnection and Energization Program – U.S.-based distribution utilities can apply for funding by October 16.
- American-Made Upskill Prize for the Solar Manufacturing Workforce – U.S. solar manufacturers and training organizations are encouraged to apply to compete by November 20.
SETO is seeking a passionate and driven Technology Manager to join its Strategic Analysis and Institutional Support team. In this role, you’ll help advance research and development for solar energy integration and support efforts to reduce the soft costs and barriers to agrivoltaics—the co-location of agriculture and solar energy. Responsibilities include managing complex renewable energy projects, analyzing policies, and contributing to innovative solar energy development programs. Apply by September 30.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the White House announced a new working group that aims to reduce transaction costs and make it easier to install solar on multifamily housing and leverage funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. HUD also announced that 100% of the cost savings from solar power purchase agreements can stay with public housing properties when done in conjunction with an Energy Performance Contract. This will help unlock the full potential of on-site solar on public housing properties and expand opportunities for solar investments.
DOE’s Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) program is now accepting applications for a new round of peer-learning cohorts. Participants in C2C peer-learning cohorts receive strategic and technical assistance, access to training materials, tools, and best practices, and the chance to collaborate with peers across the country. Apply by October 31.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) offers targeted assistance to communities through the Solar Energy Innovation Network’s Innovation at SCALE (Solar Community Assistance for Local Equity) program. Request assistance by September 30. NREL staff will follow up to schedule an intake interview in October and set up technical and facilitation assistance between November and January.
The USPVDB, run by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the U.S. Geological Survey, is the most detailed and comprehensive publicly available geospatial large-scale solar facility database. The USPVDB was recently updated to include facilities operational as of August 2023. The database now includes nearly 4,200 solar facilities, representing about 90 gigawatts of generation capacity. Visit the project website to learn more, download the data, or explore using the interactive web viewer.
Sharing the Sun Community Solar Project Data (June 2024) – NREL
October 1 | 4 p.m. ET | Virtual
The Architectural Solar Association and NREL are hosting a new webinar series to educate design and construction professionals on key principles of architectural solar. Register to attend the first webinar in this series.
October | Virtual
The Equitable Solar Communities of Practice program is hosting virtual community convenings. Check out the session topics and register:
October 21 | 2 p.m. ET | Virtual
In March 2022, SETO released the PV End-of-Life Action Plan. Register for this webinar, which will provide an update on efforts to improve PV’s environmental impact since the release of the plan, featuring SETO-funded projects and federal programs from other offices.
October 24 | 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET | Hybrid
Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) FIRST is a series of monthly interactive meetings to facilitate the adoption of new and recently updated standards relevant for interconnected clean energy resources like solar and wind energy. The upcoming session will be a hybrid event held at the Energy Systems Integration Group Fall Workshop. Register here to attend virtually and view recordings and slides from past events.
October 31 | 1 p.m. ET | Virtual
Register for an upcoming webinar where the i2X team will discuss the second goal of the Transmission Interconnection Roadmap: improving the process and timeline for interconnection. Check out upcoming and past Solution e-Xchanges.
Learn more about SETO or DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
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