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SETO selected 16 projects to receive $5.4 million through the 2024 SIPS funding program. SIPS projects focus on novel, high-risk, or high-impact ideas that can produce significant results within the first year of performance, quickly validating new concepts and laying the foundation for continued research. Learn more about the winning projects and their innovative ideas for photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) R&D.
SETO launched the American-Made Promoting Registration of Inverters and Modules with Ecolabel (PRIME) Prize, which offers more than $2.7 million in cash prizes to help U.S.-based solar PV module and inverter manufacturers register their products through the EPEAT ecolabel, expanding options for conscious consumers. Register for an informational webinar on October 30 at 12 p.m. ET and submit Phase 1 applications by April 17, 2025.
DOE announced the 43 teams from 38 schools that will participate in the Solar District Cup Class of 2025 for a full academic year. The Solar District Cup is a collegiate design competition that challenges student teams to design and model distributed energy systems for real-world use cases. Students can still register to compete in a condensed version of the program by January 16, 2025.
Don't forget to participate in these funding opportunities, prizes, and solicitations:
The solar industry is one of the fastest growing job markets, and preparing students to enter this rapidly growing field has never been easier. With funding from DOE, the Philadelphia Energy Authority launched the Bright Solar Futures program. This program educates students about the solar industry through a comprehensive, customizable curriculum and prepares them to enter the workforce by providing a direct pipeline to internships and job placements with local employers. Check out the free solar curriculum, which is now available to schools nationwide.
Watch this new video featuring the latest successes of SETO awardee, Sunvapor, whose CSP technology is helping decarbonize several industrial sectors, including chemical processing, fuel production, and food processing.
Learn how agrivoltaics, the co-location of solar energy and agricultural operations, can optimize land use, generate more revenue for farmers, and help decarbonize the grid. DOE is funding agrivoltaics research to learn best practices to increase adoption and preserve agricultural communities while supporting the clean energy transition.
EnergyTech UP is a competition involving student teams and faculty participants. Student teams compete for cash prizes for successfully identifying a promising energy technology, assessing its market potential, and creating a business plan for commercialization while faculty mentor students and create innovative implementation plans. Students and faculty can register for an informational webinar on October 24 at 1 p.m. ET. Faculty submissions are due January 13, 2025.
Check out the first quarterly newsletter from DOE’s Critical Materials Collaborative (CMC). Created for the critical materials community, this newsletter is your resource for the CMC's latest activities, funding opportunities, key events, and more within DOE and partner agencies.
DOE has three new, no-cost technical assistance opportunities available to utilities and grid operators. Learn more and apply today to accelerate clean energy deployment in communities nationwide. Register for an informational webinar on October 23 at 2 p.m. ET.
DOE announced the Clean Energy Careers for All (CEC4A) program, which will award nearly $3 million to non-profit science, technology, engineering, and math organizations in support of their workforce development initiatives. Apply by December 13.
Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) helped publish a new report featuring best practices for bifacial PV tracking systems. The report provides comprehensive guidelines to design and build high-quality PV systems, which can help project developers, investors, and companies improve reliability and financial viability.
The DOE Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) issued an RFI to solicit public comments on a draft strategic framework on Circularity for Secure and Sustainable Products and Materials. AMMTO seeks input from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on how to address challenges related to recirculating products and materials at the end-of-use or end-of-life back into the economy. Submit feedback by December 16.
Summer 2024 Quarterly Solar Industry Update – National Renewable Energy Laboratory
October 21 | 2 p.m. ET | Virtual
In March 2022, SETO released the PV End-of-Life Action Plan. Register for this webinar, which will provide an update on efforts to improve PV’s environmental impact since the release of the plan, featuring SETO-funded projects and federal programs from other offices.
October 23 & 30 | Virtual
The Equitable Solar Communities of Practice program is hosting virtual community convenings. Check out the session topics and register:
October 24 | 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET | Hybrid
The upcoming session of the Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) Forum for the Implementation of Reliability Standards for Transmission (FIRST) will be a hybrid event held at the Energy Systems Integration Group Fall Workshop. Register here to attend virtually and view recordings and slides from past events.
October 29 | 12 p.m. ET | Virtual
Join SNL’s Jeremy Sment to learn about the completion of the G3P3 tower. Get an update on the latest milestones and ongoing projects that are leveraging the G3P3 platforms for testing. Learn about SETO’s goals to reduce the cost of electricity for CSP and how G3P3 plays an important role in achieving them.
October 31 | 1 p.m. ET | Virtual
Register for an upcoming webinar where the i2X team will discuss the second goal of the Transmission Interconnection Roadmap: improving the process and timeline for interconnection. Check out upcoming and past Solution e-Xchanges.
Ribbon Cutting for Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program: SETO Director Becca Jones-Albertus participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Rutgers Animal Farm in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Speakers celebrated the ongoing research and potential impacts of agrivoltaics for the agricultural and solar industries. Cattle were released in the field for the first time. Their grazing patterns and other behaviors will be analyzed as part of the program.
 Cattle grazing in field among bifacial solar PV panels at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. Photo by SETO
SETO at Climate Week: SETO Technical Advisor, Tim Cycyota presented on the new PRIME Prize at the Global Electronic Council’s Climate Week event in New York.
Learn more about SETO or DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
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