The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced $45 million to enhance domestic solar manufacturing.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is sponsoring $18 million of the funding, according to the July 6 news release. This will foster the development of dual-use solar technologies such as agrivoltaics and building-integrated photovoltaics, opening up new markets for American products and bolstering the domestic manufacturing sector.
"President Biden’s Investing in America agenda has led to a surge of solar manufacturing announcements and has created thousands of good paying, union jobs in solar deployment,” U.S.Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in the release. “With these innovative, made-in-America technologies, the Biden-Harris administration is powering the clean energy transition, lowering electricity costs for hardworking Americans and protecting the future for our children from the impacts of the climate crisis.”
The funding opportunity, called Silicon Solar Manufacturing and Dual-use Photovoltaics Incubator, will provide support for up to 12 projects to establish a network of manufacturers in the domestic solar supply chain, the release reported. The projects will focus on various components of the supply chain, including polysilicon production, silicon ingots and wafers, solar cells, glass and manufacturing equipment.
Additionally, the funding will be directed toward projects that aim to explore new markets in emerging dual-use photovoltaic sectors, such as agrivoltaics, building-integrated PV, floating PV and vehicle-integrated PV, and make opportunities to develop products that can bolster PV markets, according to the release.
"There have been 63 domestic manufacturing announcements across the solar supply chain since the beginning of the Biden-Harris administration, including more than 40 of which have been announced since August 2022," the release reported.
The DOE is working to establish a "more diverse set of solar manufacturers" in the country to help create jobs and increase economic activity while building a technical workforce, the release said. The aim is to simplify shipping and logistics, reduce supply chain insecurity and build a capable workforce.
