Energy Dept. Makes $27M Available for Solar Manufacturing Incubator
WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy is making $27 million available to support projects aimed at lowering the cost of solar energy, developing next-generation solar technologies and boosting American solar manufacturing.
According to the DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office, which is overseeing the program, funded projects “will support the scaling of affordable and equitable solar and facilitate secure, reliable integration of solar electricity into the nation’s energy grid to ultimately benefit the U.S. economy.”
With this round of funding particular attention will be given to technologies related to cadmium telluride absorbers and projects to bolster the domestic solar supply chain.
The Solar Energy Technologies Office expects to make from six to 17 awards under the Fiscal Year 2022 Solar Manufacturing Incubator Funding Opportunity announcement, each ranging between $500,000 and $6 million.
Officials said they are expecting a diverse group of entrepreneurs, small businesses, and larger for-profit entities to apply.
The ultimate aim of the funding opportunity and others is to support an equitable transition to a decarbonized electricity system by 2035 and decarbonized energy sector by 2050.
Prior to submitting a full application for this opportunity, a brief, mandatory letter of intent must be submitted by Sept. 16, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. eastern time
The Solar Energy Technologies Office will host an informational webinar on Aug. 3, 2022 at 3 p.m. eastern time to discuss the funding program and the areas of focus.
Interested parties can register for the webinar here.
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