The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) supports research & development to harness America's abundant solar energy for secure, affordable, and reliable solar energy. SETO works to:
- Drive innovation to make American-made solar technology affordable and its supply chain secure
- Enable solar energy with storage to support the reliability, resilience, and security of the electricity grid
- Provide relevant and objective technical information to cut red tape and meet growing electricity demand
Learn more about SETO’s goals to improve the affordability, reliability, and security of solar energy on the electric grid.
Our Organization
SETO is part of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
The director of the Solar Energy Technologies Office is Dr. Becca Jones-Albertus.
What We Do
SETO funds cooperative research and development projects in several research areas that drive innovation and lower costs. A list of SETO-funded projects can be found in the Solar Energy Research Database. Reports resulting from research projects can be found on the Office of Science and Technical Information (OSTI) website.
A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (formerly known as a funding opportunity announcement (FOAs)) is developed through a collaborative process in order to achieve the office's goals. Adhering to an open, highly competitive solicitation process, these funding opportunities encourage collaborative partnerships among industries; universities; national laboratories; federal, state, and local governments; and nongovernment organizations. View the office’s open funding opportunities and learn how to apply for them.
NOFO applications undergo a rigorous peer review process before projects are selected for negotiation to receive DOE funding. Upon the successful completion of this negotiation process, including collaboration on a statement of project objectives, milestones, and budgets, projects can begin.
In addition to these projects, SETO also funds prizes and challenges to encourage innovation and accelerate the development of new solar energy solutions.
See a list of awards won by SETO-supported research.
Success Stories
With hundreds of active projects, SETO helps to drive costs down and spur the solar energy innovation pipeline. SETO success stories help to show the specific, measurable results from these projects. From solar cell technology breakthroughs to the software platforms and unlikely partnerships that are helping to reduce costs, these stories highlight the work behind solar energy's historic progress.