It truly was community solar’s time to shine! The third annual NCSP Summit brought together community solar professionals and visionaries who showcased the substantial progress made in community solar deployment and the bright future for community solar with meaningful benefits. Check out the Summit’s big moments and major announcements below:
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DOE announced a new initiative, the Community Power Accelerator™, to bring together investors, philanthropic organizations, developers, community-based organizations, and technical experts to get more equitable community solar projects financed and deployed. Register for an informational webinar on Feb. 1 at 12 p.m. ET to learn more about the Accelerator’s many programs and resources.
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DOE announced the Community Power Accelerator Prize: Accessing Capital to Deploy Equitable Community Solar, a $10 million competition that will provide pre-development funds to organizations to build the expertise, experience, and capacity required to develop community solar projects at scale.
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DOE announced five teams as Grand Prize winners of the Sunny Awards for Equitable Community Solar. These teams demonstrate best practices in increasing resilience, expanding community ownership, building a more equitable workforce, and leading community engagement.
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Don't forget to participate in these funding opportunities, prizes, and solicitations:
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Check out the latest installment of SETO’s LinkedIn Series, “Meet the Energy Department’s Solar Office,” featuring Nancy LaPlaca, our senior regulatory expert and engagement specialist on the communications team. Learn about what sparked Nancy’s passion for solar energy and how she has maintained that enthusiastic spirit for more than 20 years.
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As more distributed energy resources (DERs) like wind and solar come online, our power grid becomes more complex and requires new approaches to protect it against cyber threats. Learn how SETO-funded Operant Networks is helping secure the clean energy grid with encrypted sensors that can securely communicate DER data to multiple parties at once.
It’s the final countdown! Your last chance to enter the American-Made Perovskite Startup Prize Countdown Contest is March 23. The competition accelerates efforts to develop innovative perovskite solar companies with the potential to manufacture commercially viable products in the U.S. Finalists of the Countdown Contest receive a $200,000 cash prize and are eligible to compete in the Liftoff Contest. Both new and previous applicants are encouraged to apply.
Check out the updated Farmer’s Guide to Going Solar resource for farms and agricultural businesses looking to solar to power their daily operations and diversify their revenue stream.
 NREL researcher Jordan Macknick works with teams from University of Massachuselts (UMass) Clean Energy Extension and Hyperion on a photovoltaic dual-use research project at the UMass Crop Animal Research and Education Center in South Deerfield, MA. Photo by Dennis Schroeder/NREL.
DOE’s new C2C program connects local governments, electric utilities, and community-based organizations with DOE’s national labs to help them realize their clean energy goals. With three levels of assistance ranging from a few weeks to a few years, C2C supports communities in transitioning to clean energy systems that reflect their local priorities.
Eight teams in round two of SEIN provide blueprints, tip sheets, and other resources for communities interested in installing solar-plus-storage and harnessing the resiliency and economic benefits of solar energy.
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s analysis of PJM Interconnection found substantial interconnection cost increases and tremendous growth of PJM’s interconnection project queue. Learn what factors are driving these increases and other trends in electric capacity queues.
January 30 & 31 | 11 a.m. ET
Join SETO awardee, Arizona State University, to learn about the results and products of their multi-industry research and development project on advanced technologies for extreme penetration of distributed solar PV in the distribution grid.
February 1 | 11 a.m. ET
DOE’s Heliostat Consortium (HelioCon) is hosting a seminar on best practices and lessons learned in operational commercial CSP projects.
February 1 | 12 p.m. ET
Attend this upcoming webinar to learn about the Community Power Accelerator Prize’s submission requirements, scoring criteria, and winner selection process. Participants will also have an opportunity to ask questions.
February 1 | 3 p.m. ET
Register for this webinar for an overview of the C2C program and to discuss in-depth partnership support.
February 7 | 1 p.m. ET
Join the AgriSolar Clearinghouse for a webinar series on agrivoltaics, the co-location of solar and agriculture on the same land. Additional webinars are scheduled in the coming months.
February 9 | 7 p.m. ET
The Electric Power Research Institute is looking to engage with CSP plant operators and support organizations in this webinar about their preliminary work on the reliability of the Rankine cycle of CSP, which is part of a DOE project, CSP Process Enhancement and Refinement For Operations, Reliability, and Maintenance.
February 14 | 4 p.m. ET
Join SETO’s Marie Mapes in this webinar to learn about a recent analysis of four clean energy commercialization case studies, including thin film solar PV.
Learn more about SETO or DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
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