As part of the SunShot Initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is investigating the development of ‘transformational’ plug-and-play technologies and systems that are intended to reduce balance-of-system soft costs such as permitting, inspection and grid interconnection.
The DOE says it believes that when installing a photovoltaic system is as simple as plugging an appliance into a wall outlet, the residential PV market will grow at an accelerated rate. The agency's request for information (RFI) on plug-and-play systems informs a potential funding opportunity that aims to reduce process-related barriers for grid and distributed PV systems as a whole and explore new technology pathways to reduce total system costs and ease installation.
The topic areas cover – but are not limited to – PV module technology, power electronics design, grid integration approaches, racking hardware design and the system installation process. Respondents are asked to comment on the questions in the RFI. Respondents are also encouraged to comment on the value of the anticipated plug-and-play PV systems, as well as on the organization's anticipated interest in participating in such an opportunity.
More information on the solicitation is available here.
