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Funding Opportunity: Technology to Market 2
SunShot Subprogram: Technology to Market
Location: Hillsboro, OR
SunShot Award Amount: $486,432
Awardee Cost Share: $486,432

This project integrates all major solar components – the module, inverter, and racking – into a single unit. This new product will utilize laminates by placing them in a platform rather than in the typical aluminum frame. This project could open up photovoltaic (PV) installation to new market segments and truly enable do-it-yourself solar.

Approach

The project team will gather feedback on its technology concept from professionals in the solar industry as well as electrical and building code experts to understand any barriers to adoption or safety concerns. This feedback will be used to finalize the design concept and produce working prototypes of the system for demonstration and validation purposes. Data gathered from these demonstration sites will be analyzed to prove the inherent safety of back feed prevention technology. The team will also produce a marketing and commercialization plan to include an estimate of the total cost of installation for a customer.

Innovation

This project will drive down installation and customer acquisition costs, making going solar as easy as a visit to a big-box store, assembly of an array in a back yard, and plugging it into a dryer socket. A key component of the technology, the Solar Integration Device, protects a customer’s investment from a utility changing rate schedules or net metering rules while simultaneously meeting regulatory requirements so the array does not unnecessarily export power to the grid.