Today, in recognition that solar energy is a critical factor in the President’s clean energy agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that $11.8 million ($5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) will be deployed to five projects related to the development of solar energy grid integration systems (SEGIS).  This follows our earlier client alerts regarding funding opportunities for solar technologies.

SEGIS activity began in 2008 with a partnership between DOE, Sandia National Laboratories, industry, utilities, and universities interested in complete system development.  Funded projects are related to the integration of solar technologies into the U.S. electrical grid while maintaining or improving power quality and reliability.

DOE announced funding of the following projects:

PVPowered of Bend, Oregon.  Up to $3 million is available to fund a project that optimizes interconnections across the full range of emerging PV module technologies through innovative systems integration.  This project includes the following partners: PVPowered, Portland General Electric, South Dakota State University, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, and SENSUS.

Petra Solar of South Plainfield New Jersey.  Up to $2.9 million is available to fund a project that supports improving reliability and resiliency so that high levels of PV integration can be adapted.  This project includes the following partners: Petra Solar, University of Central Florida, and fifteen electric utilities.

Princeton Power of Princeton, New Jersey.  Up to $2.8 million is available to fund a project that focuses on lowering manufacturing costs through integrated controls for energy storage and the development of new inverter designs.  This project includes the following partners: Princeton Power, Transistor Device Inc, LaGuardia Community College, Idyllwild Municipal Water District, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Premier Power, SPG Solar, and Spire.

Apollo Solar of Bethel, Connecticut.  Up to $1.5 million is available for the creation of innovative inverters using energy storage and two-way communications between solar electrical systems and utilities.  This project includes the following partners: Apollo Solar, Saft Batteries, the Electric Power Research Institute, and California Independent System Operator.

Florida Solar Energy Center / UCF.  Up to $1.3 million is available to solve technical challenges that impede the deployment of higher PV penetration levels in larger scale systems.  This project includes the following partners:  Florida Solar Energy Center, Satcon Technology Corporation, SENTECH, Inc., Cooper Power Systems EAS, Northern Plains Power Technologies, and Lakeland Electric Utilities.