Solar Energy

The Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration is awarding a $1.2 million grant to the city of Sumter, South Carolina, for water infrastructure improvements needed to boost the region’s clean energy industry. This grant will support the establishment of a new solar wafer manufacturing facility.

The U.S. Department of Energy today announced $40 million in investments across the solar energy supply chain, including the selection of four projects to improve the lifecycle of photovoltaic solar systems. These investments will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to boost domestic manufacturing and competitiveness while reducing waste and improving sustainability of solar technologies.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced an additional $9 million investment in the Industrial Training and Assessment Centers (ITAC) Implementation Grants program. This funding would support 47 small- and medium-sized manufacturers across the country to implement a wide variety of energy and efficiency projects, including installing onsite solar and heat pumps, improving lighting and heating, and electrifying industrial equipment and fleets.

The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded $35 million through the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Research Incubators for STEM Excellence Research Infrastructure Improvement to boost research competitiveness, build partnerships across academic institutions and non-academic sectors and create workforce development opportunities.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced that the Department of Commerce and Rocket Lab, the parent company of space power provider SolAero Technologies Corp., have signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms to provide up to $23.9M in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions to strengthen American solar manufacturing and protect businesses and workers from China’s unfair trade actions.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced a $71 million investment, including $16 million from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, in research, development, and demonstration projects to grow the network of domestic manufacturers across the U.S. solar energy supply chain.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced $45 million to support pilot manufacturing of solar components that can contribute to a domestic manufacturing sector capable of meeting the Administration’s solar deployment goals without relying on imported products. The funding will also support the development of new dual use solar technologies such as agrivoltaics and building-integrated photovoltaics, to create new markets for American products.