The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $40 million in investments across the solar energy supply chain, including the selection of four projects to improve the lifecycle of PV solar systems.
The selected projects are slated to maximize the environmental benefit of solar energy technologies by increasing system lifetime and work to facilitate material recovery once the system is decommissioned.
DOE also launched a prize program meant to open new markets for solar energy system equipment, announced winners in the American-Made Solar Prize Round 7 and issued a notice of intent for up to $20 million to advance solar manufacturing.
“The Biden-Harris administration is investing in a clean energy future that’s built to last,” says U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The U.S. has doubled annual solar installations over the past four years, and today’s announcement further supports manufacturers as they create more resilient solar energy technologies and maximize the life of their products.”
DOE announced the selection of four research and development projects to receive $16 million, including $8 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, aimed at reducing the costs and impacts of solar energy technologies. The Materials, Operation and Recycling of Photovoltaics funding program supports DOE’s Photovoltaics End-of-Life Action Plan, which aims to halve the cost of recycling by 2030 and reduce the environmental impact of solar energy modules at end-of-life.
The funding program also set up the Solar Partnership to Advance Recycling and Circularity to improve materials recovery and develop safe end-of-life practices for PV system components. This partnership of 30 organizations, led by the Electric Power Research Institute and including academic and industrial stakeholders, aims to improve the circularity and lifecycle impact of PV systems through technology solutions, strategic partnerships, and community benefits.
The selected projects are:
- Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio): $4 million
- kWh Analytics in Sacramento, Calif.: $2.4 million
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C.: $1.3 million
- Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif.: $8 million
DOE also announced the upcoming $3 million American-Made Promoting Registration of Inverters and Modules with Ecolabel Prize, which aims to incentivize the registration of solar PV module and inverter products through the Global Electronics Council’s Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool ecolabel standard.
The American-Made Solar Prize is a multimillion-dollar prize program designed to spur innovations in U.S. solar hardware and software technologies and address challenges to rapid, equitable solar energy deployment. Through seven rounds of the Solar Prize, DOE has awarded $21.6 million in cash prizes to support solar technologies.
After a live demo day in which Solar Prize Round 7 finalist teams pitched their solutions to a panel of judges at RE+, SETO announced that two teams each received $500,000 for their early-stage innovations addressing challenges to the rapid deployment of equitable solar energy. The winning teams are:
- Fram Energy in Newburgh,N.Y.
- Gritt Robotics in Belmont, Calif.
Competitors can apply to compete in Round 8 of the Solar Prize until September 26.
DOE issued a notice of intent for new funding that will provide up to $20 million for R&D and demonstration projects that advance innovative solar module technologies and de-risk solar hardware for a wide range of solar technology areas.
