The Department of Energy is making up to $12 million available to develop a diverse, well-trained solar support workforce, including professionals in the insurance, real estate and utility industries, whom consumers rely on when they choose solar. This funding builds on the SunShot Initiative’s Solar Instructor Training Network, which has trained more than 30,000 students to enter the solar energy workforce in the past five years.
An additional $5 million will fund projects aimed at increasing market transparency and access to key solar energy datasets such as electricity production and financial performance data. From three to six funded projects will create new capabilities that enable existing solar databases across the industry to interact more efficiently.
And $15 million will fund projects to develop new designs for concentrating solar power (CSP) collectors, the most expensive component of CSP systems – comprising up to 40 percent of the total system cost. The seven to 10 funded projects will reduce the cost of the collector field while improving accuracy and durability.
Photo of solar installer via Shutterstock
