DOE to award $45M for projects to advance solar energy

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding up to $45 million for research to advance solar hardware and systems integration.

Currently, solar only makes up three percent of U.S. electricity, but usage is expected to rise steadily. By 2050, it should account for 18 percent of U.S. electricity. To accommodate this increase requires an increase of hundreds of gigawatts of solar capacity. Thus, DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is seeking ways to bring large quantities of solar onto the grid.

“The Nation’s solar energy use is on the rise,” Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette said. “Investing in innovative research and development projects will help ensure that the technologies we’re using benefit the U.S. economy while securely delivering reliable power to all Americans.”

EERE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) Fiscal Year 2021 Systems Integration and Hardware Incubator funding program seeks to advance solar in two broad areas — systems integration and hardware incubator.

Among the $45 million in grants to be awarded, $25 million will toward a Grid-Forming Technologies Research Consortium. Grid-forming technologies automatically coordinate inverter-based and other resources to start up and maintain electricity on the grid. Also, $6 million will be set aside for Integrating Behind-the-Meter Solar Resources into Utility Data Systems. This $6 million will be split into two or three awards. Integrated communication systems that digest sensor measurements from distributed energy sources are paramount for utilities to manage the grid.

Further, $6 million will b award for Product Development, split up into six to 12 separate awards. The goal is to bring new technologies and manufacturing processes to the prototype stage and develop a pathway to commercial success.

Finally, $8 million will be earmarked for Product Development & Demonstration, with the money split into one to four awards. Under this topic area, products or solutions will undergo pilot-scale testing and demonstration.