The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a $40 million investment to support the solar energy supply chain, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda. This funding aims to enhance the lifecycle of photovoltaic (PV) solar systems by increasing their lifespan and facilitating material recovery once decommissioned.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm stated, “The Biden-Harris Administration is investing in a clean energy future that’s built to last.” She highlighted that annual solar installations in the U.S. have doubled over the past four years and emphasized the importance of creating resilient solar technologies.

The DOE has selected four research and development projects to receive $16 million, including $8 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These projects are part of the Materials, Operation, and Recycling of Photovoltaics (MORE PV) funding program, which supports DOE’s Photovoltaics End-of-Life Action Plan. The plan aims to halve recycling costs by 2030 and reduce environmental impacts at end-of-life for solar modules.

Selected projects include:

- Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH): $4 million

- kWh Analytics (Sacramento, CA): $2.4 million

- University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte, NC): $1.3 million

- Electric Power Research Institute (Palo Alto, CA): $8 million

Additionally, DOE announced a forthcoming $3 million American-Made Promoting Registration of Inverters and Modules with Ecolabel (PRIME) Prize to incentivize registration through the Global Electronics Council’s Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT).

The American-Made Solar Prize program has awarded $21.6 million across seven rounds to spur innovations in U.S. solar technologies. In Round 7, Fram Energy from Newburgh, NY and Gritt Robotics from Belmont, CA each received $500,000 for their early-stage innovations.

DOE also issued a notice for up to $20 million in new funding for research projects aimed at advancing innovative solar module technologies.

Further information on SETO research in manufacturing competitiveness and PV sustainability can be found on their website.

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