SunShot Initiative’s ‘Orange Button’ programme kicks off in San Francisco

July 13, 2016
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The US$4 million Orange Button initiative seeks to collate industry data in a standardised format, making it more accessible and easier to integrate. Source: US Department of Energy

The US Department of Energy SunShot Initiative’s Orange Button programme kicks off today in San Francisco with the first face-to-face meetings of the initiative, which aims to establish unified datasets in an effort to reduce financing costs across the industry.

SGIP, an industry consortium focusing on accelerating grid modernisation, is one of four organisations selected to spearhead the Orange Button initiative, alongside SunSpec Alliance, kWh Analytics and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The companies are working to practically respond to SunShot’s mandate and develop the projects that will increase market transparency and establish fair, consistent data standards for the industry; which in turn should reduce the cost of capital for new solar projects by collating regulated data.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

According to SGIP, “access to high quality data impacts more than half the total price of a residential PV system” – which in itself speaks for how important a robust data infrastructure for the industry is, to streamline information between all stakeholders including customers, utilities, financiers, local governments and solar companies.

SGIP specifically, along with the Solar Energy Industries Association, is to “manage stakeholder engagement and strategy associated with solar bankability” as well as “evaluate the progress and results of the Orange Button working group”.

“In a few short months, the Orange Button Initiative has over 330 participants and we are eager to kick off our first face-to-face meetings of the Orange Button Working Groups on July 14th in San Francisco,” stated Sharon Allan, SGIP president and CEO. “We have solar industry leaders from banking and specialty finance institutions, solar project developers and solar asset managers and installers, solar project real estate professionals, solar O&M service providers and project developers, as well as electric utilities, ISOs, and regulatory representatives registered for the Orange Button Working Groups. We are confident that we can leverage their collective knowledge and expertise to achieve the objectives of the Orange Button programme.”

21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
25 November 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

Premium
October 17, 2025
According to Ronak Maheshwari of CRC-IB, there has been a struggle for US renewable power projects to secure necessary equity .
October 17, 2025
A group of over 20 US states are suing the Trump administration for the cancellation of the US$7 billion Solar For All Scheme.
October 16, 2025
T1 Energy and Nextracker have agreed to use the latter’s steel module frames at the former’s new 5GW module manufacturing facility in Dallas.
October 16, 2025
US utility-scale solar additions grew by 56% in 2024, reaching 30GW from 2023’s 19GW and representing over 54% of all new electricity generation capacity added in the country last year.
October 16, 2025
Jakson Green and Blueleaf Energy have reached financial close for the 840MWp Bikaner solar projects in Rajasthan, western India. 
October 15, 2025
The average price of a solar PPA signed in North America increased 4% between the second and third quarters of 2025, according to LevelTen.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK