What's New?
Congratulations to Katz Water Technologies for being the first team to advance to the fourth phase of the American-Made Solar Desalination Prize where they will build their system, demonstrate their operation, and validate key performance metrics. Katz's distillation system uses solar-thermal energy instead of natural gas and has the potential to be portable, bringing fresh water wherever it's needed. Stage four teams are awarded a cash prize of $750,000 and another $100,000 voucher.
Congratulations to the student team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison for being selected as the EnergyTech University Prize Solar Technology Bonus Prize Winner! SETO awarded the team $25,000 for their entry, which included a heliostat that utilizes new hardware and innovative mechanical advantage structures to reduce the cost of motors.
Upcoming Deadlines
Don't forget to participate in these funding opportunities, prizes, and solicitations:
Some Light Reading
SETO is seeking information and feedback from solar industry professionals, researchers, and others on pathways to use concentrating solar-thermal power to produce liquid, solid, and gaseous fuels. Submit your response by April 14.
Check out our new webpage about dual-use PV technologies: from building-integrated PV to floating solar panels and vehicle-attached PV. Learn how SETO is working to bring dual-use PV innovations to doorsteps, vehicles, and rooftops across the country.
Remote and island communities can apply to ETIPP to determine the role of renewable energy technologies in improving their energy resilience. Communities will achieve self-defined energy resilience goals using technical assistance from strategic energy analysts at national laboratories and regional partner organizations. Register for an informational webinar on April 11 at 3 p.m. ET.
SETO just released a new resource for finance professionals interested in or just getting started in residential solar lending. The guide answers frequently asked questions on getting started, distinguishing types of solar financing, evaluating risk and creditworthiness, understanding technical information, and guidance on low-income household financing. It also lists free training opportunities, as well as resources for themselves and to share with clients.
Learn about a SETO-funded project which has developed a utility-scale system for a hybrid solar power plant that can operate with both alternating current (ac) and direct current (dc) lines. Considering that the majority of the U.S. power grid uses ac, this could be a game changer for distributed energy resources like solar arrays and batteries, which use dc.
For more than 3 decades, PV researchers have relied on a specific chemical treatment to improve CdTe solar cells, without understanding fully how it functions. New National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) research reveals how a very thin layer in the solar cells is responsible and the finding holds implications for materials science well beyond CdTe solar cells.
As it enters its 7th year, the DuraMAT Consortium is launching new projects and pursing a goal of predicting-and then extending-the lifetimes of common and emerging materials in PV modules. The Consortium's latest annual report recaps dozens of recently completed and ongoing projects and looks forward to new questions.
Products & Publications
Upcoming Events
March 23 | 1 p.m. ET
Join the AgriSolar Clearinghouse for a webinar series on agrivoltaics, the co-location of solar and agriculture on the same land. Additional webinars are scheduled in the coming months.
March 29 | 4 p.m. ET
SETO's Systems Integration team is hosting a monthly webinar series. Register for their next webinar titled 'Recent Advances in Experiments and Modeling of Grid-forming Systems.'
April 10-13 | San Diego, CA
SETO experts will speak on panels and present at the upcoming IEEE PES Grid Edge Technologies conference in San Diego, California.
Connect the Dots on Solar Energy
Check out this and other featured content from our Connect the Dots on Solar Energy campaign:
Follow along with our Connect the Dots content on social media and join the conversation using the hashtag #ConnectSolar
In Case You Missed It
Webinar Recording & Slides: National Community Solar Partnership 2022 Annual Update Webinar
Webinar Recording & Slides: Community Power Accelerator Prize Informational Webinar
Webinar Recap: Mechanism Analysis of Dynamic Phenomena in Power Grids With High Penetrations of Inverter-Based Resources
Learn more about SETO or DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
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