sunshot initiative

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will invest US$21.4 million in funding for 17 new projects in order to cut down on the “soft costs” normally found in PV energy — such as installation, permitting and connecting to the grid.

Community solar is emerging as an auspicious new source of demand in the US, opening up access to solar among previously excluded groups. Ethical Electric, a Washington-based renewable energy company providing 100% clean electricity to retail customers, recently launched a community solar division under the new name of CleanChoice Energy to get on board with the disruption. Managing director Laura Pagliarulo and chief impact officer Richard Graves discussed with PV Tech the company’s plans, its recent SunShot Initiative award, and how community solar is set to become ‘retail 2.0’.

Amicus Solar announced Thursday that it has received US$358,000 from the US Department of Energy (DOE) as part of its SunShot Initiative — designed to fund a new cooperative that will serve the PV operations and maintenance (O&M) sector in the US.

US-headquartered PV manufacturer Sunpreme is one of the recipients of the latest SunShot Initiative funding rounds that have just been announced through the U.S. Department of Energy. The copper patterning development funding is expected to lead to the company building a manufacturing plant in US.

The US Energy Department is planning to provide solar technology funding to the tune of US$107 million via the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE) SunShot Initiative.

In this week's Movers & Shakers segment, PV Tech focuses on employment shakeups in the US, Europe and Asia as key renewables companies reveal some hires and departures from the last fortnight.

The US Department of Energy SunShot Initiative’s Orange Button programme kicks off today and tomorrow 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.

A report published under the US Department of Energy’s Path to SunShot series by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reveals how solar power could deliver US$400 billion in environmental and public health benefits throughout the US by 2050.

The US Department of Energy has announced that five additional military bases will be included under SunShot Initiative’s Solar Ready Vets programme, which connects skilled veterans to careers in the solar energy industry through an intensive, hands-on training course. DOE is also awarding US$10 million under the Solar Training and Education for Professionals (STEP) funding programme.