Thin-film manufacturer Ascent Solar has received positive feedback from the US Department of Energy (DOE) for its agrivoltaics technology, and the company will now apply for funding for the development of a proposed agrivoltaics system.
The company said it is working to innovate agrivoltaics technology that “will directly benefit the farmers in the US by enabling reliable and durable on-site solar power generation for behind the meter use”.
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“Thin-film solar is uniquely capable of being produced and incorporated into agrivoltaics applications, and we are appreciative of the DOE’s commitment to exploring the potential of the technology,” said Paul Warley, CEO of Ascent Solar Technologies.
Warley added that the DOE’s decision was an opportunity for Ascent to submit a full application for a DOE funded project, demonstrating its technology’s potential after years of research into applications to produce solar energy on farms and provide water conservation.
In July, the DOE released US$45 million in funding to support domestic solar manufacturing and dual-use PV projects, US$18 million of which is issued under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Silicon Solar Manufacturing and Dual-use Photovoltaics Incubator funding opportunity will provide funding to up to 12 manufacturing projects across the solar supply chain with a view to contributing to the Biden administration’s efforts to establish a domestic PV manufacturing base following its Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The DOE added that it will fund dual-use PV projects in emerging industry areas including agrivoltaics, which encouraged Ascent to apply for the funding.
