Solar Energy Technologies Office

What's Inside: Solar Snapshot, the newsletter of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), shares recent announcements; upcoming events; products and publications; and more.

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Reach out to us at solar@ee.doe.gov with any inquiries or suggestions.

Estimated read time: 2 minutes, 36 seconds

What's New?

Strengthening Local Energy Planning and Resilience

DOE announced a $43 million investment to support the clean energy transition in communities across the country. Twenty projects selected for the Renewables Advancing Community Energy Resilience (RACER) funding program will help communities increase their resilience to disaster. Three projects selected for the Energyshed funding program will focus on building tools to help communities better evaluate and benefit from local energy resources.

Meet The Finalists for the Sunny Awards for Equitable Community Solar

SETO awarded $1,000 to 31 finalists for the Sunny Awards! These projects and programs will be reviewed by a panel of external reviewers from across the community solar industry in consideration for one of five Sunny Awards Grand Prizes and one or more Special Recognition Award.

Upcoming Deadlines

Don't forget to participate in these funding opportunities, prizes, and solicitations!

• Request for Information: Performance Data for Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems: Acquisition, Access, and Sharing – Solar industry professionals, researchers, and others can submit responses by November 18.
• Request for Information on Domestic Solar Panel Production – The U.S. General Services Administration seeks responses from manufacturers, purchasers and installers, and renewable energy providers by November 18.
• Request for Information: Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas Program – The Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations is seeking public input. Responses can be submitted by November 28.
• Defense Production Act and Grid Reliability Request for Information – Public responses are due November 30.

Some Light 🌞 Reading

FY23 Small Business Research & Technology Topics Announced

The Office of Science released the topics for the upcoming FY23 Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Program, giving applicants time to identify technology areas of interest and begin formulating innovative responses and partnerships.

Technology Commercialization Fund Notice of Intent to Solicit Proposals

The Office of Technology Transitions has issued a notice of intent to call for proposals, offering an opportunity for private industry to partner with DOE’s National Labs and facilities to advance energy-related technologies toward commercialization and to reduce the barriers to commercializing lab and facility developed energy-related technologies and intellectual property.

Upcoming Events

The Community Solar Pathway to Success: Strategies for Driving Equitable Distribution and Meaningful Benefits

November 15 | Washington, D.C. | 3:30 p.m. ET
SETO’s Nicole Steele will moderate a panel at the 2022 Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change conference on best practices and next steps for equity in the solar landscape.

Office of Science SBIR/STTR Topic Webinar

November 16 | 2 p.m. ET
The Office of Science will host an informational webinar on the solar energy topics for the FY23 SBIR/STTR program.

SETO's SBIR/STTR Solar Topics Webinar

November 30 | 12:30 p.m. ET
SETO will host an informational webinar to discuss the Phase I solar topics, such as PV recycling, heliostat components, concentrating solar-thermal power technologies, and more.

Products and Publications

• Hybrid Power Plants: Status of Operating and Proposed Plants, 2022 Edition – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
• Residential Solar-Adopter Income and Demographic Trends: November 2022 Update – LBNL
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Quarterly Solar Industry Update – NREL
• Long-Lived? Highly Recyclable? Priorities for Solar Panels in a Circular Economy – NREL
• NREL, Mines Researchers Show Advances in Development of III-V Solar Cells for Use on Earth – NREL

In Case You Missed It

• Webinar Slides: DOE Distributed Energy Resources Cybersecurity Report and Threat Briefing

• Solar Energy Industries Association Blog Post: Shoring Up Cybersecurity Protocols for Distributed Energy Resources

Learn more about SETO or DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.