The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) supports research & development to harness America's abundant solar resources for secure, affordable, and reliable solar energy.
Areas of Focus
Dawn Washelesky / SETOFunding Opportunities
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) supports funding opportunities across its research areas. Following an open, competitive solicitation process, these funding opportunities encourage collaborative partnerships among industry, universities, national laboratories, federal, state, and local governments and non-government agencies and advocacy groups. Solicitations may include financial or technical assistance. Learn more about how to apply for a funding opportunity.
Residential buildings with rooftop solar installations.Photos by Quincy Biddle (top left), Josh Moore (top right), and Rachel Gentile (bottom left and right)How Does Solar Work?
The amount of sunlight that strikes the earth's surface in an hour and a half is enough to handle the entire world's energy consumption for a full year. Solar technologies convert sunlight into electrical energy either through photovoltaic (PV) panels or through mirrors that concentrate solar radiation. This energy can be used to generate electricity or be stored in batteries or thermal storage.
Solar Energy Resources
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) has developed online resources to help those who want to go solar or who work with solar energy. From someone who’s looking to add solar to their roof, to someone whose job requires them to understand solar, these web resources will help everyone understand solar energy.
Research Areas
Solar Energy Basics
Blog Posts
-
- Solar
- Interconnection
- Interconnection
- Interconnection
A solar photovoltaic (PV) installation comes with a proposal and a contract, so if you’re thinking about going solar, it’s important to understand what you’ll be signing.December 10, 2024 -
- Solar
To support ecologically responsible solar deployment, Argonne National Laboratory developed a camera powered by artificial intelligence to see how birds interact with solar panels.October 24, 2024 -
- Commercial Implementation
- Technology and Transitions and Early Investments
- Technology and Transitions and Early Investments
- Technology and Transitions and Early Investments
This team from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) participated in Cohort 4 as team HALO to use Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy (HVPE) to fabricate high performance solar cells at a lower cost.October 21, 2024 -
Sunvapor designed a solar collector to cut costs and optimize the supply chain by using less energy to manufacture the structural components.October 8, 2024