What Happened?
The U.S. Department of Energy announced more than $59 million in federal grants will be directed toward solar energy programs across the country.
Goal
The U.S. Department of Energy is investing more than $59 million in solar energy innovation projects; $45 million of which will be used to move innovative solar manufacturing technologies to market and $14 million will fuel 15 new projects to help communities develop multi-year solar development plans. These community programs include installation of solar electricity in homes, businesses and public facilities.
The overall goal of the program is to make solar energy more affordable for households and businesses, as well as encourage the development of solutions to overcome technical, regulatory and financial challenges associated with renewable energy alternatives. The DOE is deploying a two-pronged approach to fueling solar adoption nationwide:
- Solar Technology Innovation and American Manufacturing: $45 million allocated to the Technology to Market project to help create a more competitive economy with strong, clean manufacturing. This initiative includes the SunShot funding programs: Incubator, Solar Manufacturing Technology, Scaling Up Nascent PV at Home.
- Empowering Communities to Deploy Solar: $14 million will support the 15 Solar Market Pathways project designed to develop actionable solar deployment plans for residential, community and commercial scales. This project includes expanding shared community solar programs, increasing local financing mechanisms and integrating solar energy into communities’ emergency response plans.
To date, more than 17 gigawatts of solar power have been installed across the United States. That is enough energy to power 3.5 million homes.
SunShot
The investment announcement marks the continuation of the DOE’s SunShot Initiative that aims to make the U.S. a global leader in clean energy use by advancing solar technology advancements while reducing the cost of deployment. Thus far, the SunShot Initiative has funded more than 350 projects focused on:
- Photovoltaics
- Concentrating solar power
- Balance of systems costs
- Systems integration
- Technology to market
In collaboration with the private sector and academic researchers, the DOE wants to eliminate financial barriers to solar adoption and innovation so it can account for at least 27 percent of the nation’s energy supply by 2050. Fueling the clean, solar energy industry will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while creating domestic jobs across the country.
Duluth
The city of Duluth recently won a $209,000 federal grant through the Department of Energy’s solar initiative. The city will use the money to make the city more sustainable by increasing residential access to solar resources. Duluth is working with a local nonprofit agency to develop a strategy to address key challenges to widespread solar adoption:
- Financing
- Permitting
- Installing
- Maintaining
The three year grant from the DOE will help Duluth generate 1 megawatt of solar power which would meet the electrical needs of 100 homes.
Salt Lake City
The Department of Energy has also awarded $600,000 to Salt Lake City and Utah Clean Energy through the SunShot Initiative. Salt Lake City’s Wasatch Solar Project aims to generate 1,075 megawatts of solar photovoltaic energy by 2024.
Over the next three years, the Wasatch Solar Project will use the federal grant to:
- Develop a comprehensive, long-term deployment strategy
- Conduct an analysis of the value of rooftop solar
- Advance a statewide solar financing program
The project will also promote opportunities to integrate solar into local emergency response plans.
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