Energy Department announces new funding for solar, geothermal research
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) this week announced $125.5 million in new funding for solar technology research and $43.8 million to advance geothermal research and development.
“Solar energy has grown tremendously in the last decade,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette said. “The research and development supported by this investment will build on the technological foundations necessary to continue the solar industry’s growth and preserve American energy choice, independence, and security. These investments directly support the Trump Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy.”
DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office is tasked in part with advancing research and development of solar technologies that reduce the cost of solar and improve grid reliability.
DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office Fiscal Year 2020 Funding Program will help to continue lowering solar costs, the department said. The projects will focus on enabling solar and storage, enhancing cybersecurity protections, manufacturing, developing solar-powered microgrids, and siting solar with agriculture.
Under Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes said, “Progress made in cybersecurity and grid integration build on previous FOAs [funding opportunity announcements], and including new topics to help the agriculture community and folding in AI technologies and machine learning, only help bolster the need for solar technologies now, and in the future.”
