2022 SETO Peer Review – Soft Costs Projects

Project Name: Customer Options Landscape: Opportunities for Co-Adoption and Technology Evolution of Distributed Energy Resources (CO-LOCATED)
Awardee: Electric Power Research Institute
Location: Palo Alto, CA
DOE Award Amount: $2,000,000
Principal Investigator: Nadav Enbar
Project Summary: This project is examining how residential and commercial utility customers make decisions related to the co-adoption of solar power with other technologies, such as electric vehicles and energy storage. Using utility and survey data, the team will identify what drives customer decisions about co-adoption and assess the cost efficiencies and value of co-adoption to consumers. This data will be integrated into NREL’s open-source agent-based adoption forecasting tool, dGen, which can be used by utilities, grid operators, and other stakeholders to better incorporate solar energy in integrated resources planning and grid reliability planning.

Project Name: Evaluating the Potential for Distributed Solar PV and Energy Storage Systems (PVESS) in Backup Power Applications
Awardee: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Location: Berkeley, CA
DOE Award Amount: $1,385,000
Principal Investigator: Galen Barbose
Project Summary: This project is studying the capabilities and value of distributed solar photovoltaics (PV) and energy storage systems (PVESS) as backup power for homes and buildings that receive electricity directly from solar energy systems. The team will investigate the interactions between PVESS and other distributed energy resources, such as energy efficiency, electric vehicles, building electrification, and load management. In addition, they will analyze trade-offs between backup power and competing value streams, including utility-bill cost management, demand-response programs, and direct participation in wholesale markets. The team will publish studies and release resources and tools to inform decision-making by analysts, installers and developers, utilities, planners, regulators, and end-use customers.

Project Name: Preparing Southeast Markets for Reliable and Affordable Integration of Solar into Operations and Planning
Awardee: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Location: Berkeley, CA
DOE Award Amount: $1,450,000
Principal Investigator: Natalie Mims Frick
Project Summary: This project is researching opportunities for utilities to increase solar and solar-plus-storage integration and coordination across the Southeast. The Southeast electricity market is not organized under a regional transmission organization or independent system operator the way it is in other parts of the country, but Southeast grid operators are considering options for increased coordination. This research will inform decisions about increased market coordination, greater adoption of solar energy technologies, and the best ways to ensure the reliability of the electric grid.

Project Name: Enabling Solar Cybersecurity Solutions Through State Energy Office and Public Utility Commission Engagement with Private Sector Partners
Awardee: National Association of State Energy Officials
Location: Arlington, VA
DOE Award Amount: $500,000
Principal Investigator: Kirsten Verclas
Project Summary: The National Association of State Energy Officials and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners are creating a solar cybersecurity working group to improve the ability to respond to cybersecurity threats related to solar energy and other distributed energy resources. The group will include state energy officials, public utility commissioners, solar industry stakeholders, cybersecurity experts, utility representatives, and others. The project team will develop an online cybersecurity tool kit to help solar industry decision-makers, regulators, utilities, and state and local governments pursue policies, plans, and partnerships for cybersecure solar infrastructure in their jurisdictions.

Project Name: Energy Resilience Cost and Performance Tool: The Value of Solar Energy
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $385,000
Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Marqusee
Project Summary: This project is developing a tool that determines the ability of behind-the-meter solar energy plus storage systems to provide resilient backup power. The tool will be integrated into NREL’s techno-economic decision-support platform, REopt Lite, which optimizes energy systems for buildings, campuses, and microgrids and is publicly available online. This new capability will enable stakeholders to quantitatively compare life-cycle costs, system-level reliability, and resilience performance between behind-the-meter system configurations (solar+storage, fossil-fuel backup generators, and a mixture of the two) and quantitatively compare their life cycle costs, system level reliability, and resilience performance.

Project Name: Enhanced Simulation Tools for Scheduling Solar-Plus-Storage Power Plants
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $1,800,000
Principal Investigator: Bradley Cowiestall
Project Summary: One of the most significant challenges of maximizing the value of stored solar energy is scheduling the charging and discharging of this energy, particularly at high penetrations of variable generation. Current tools can look ahead only one or two days to make schedules, which is not enough to schedule storage that can supply 8-24 hours of electricity. This project is developing new methodologies for more accurately representing commitment and dispatch decision-making under realistic near- and mid-term forecast uncertainty at high variable renewable energy penetrations. The new methodologies will be disseminated in easily utilized formats for two separate modeling capabilities: PLEXOS, a commercially available simulation software designed for energy market analysis, and the Scalable Integrated Infrastructure Planning (SIIP), an open-source platform for simulating power systems. These open-source tools will be made available for utilities and energy planners.

Project Name: PV Operations and Maintenance Industry Working Group             
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory       
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $1,000,000
Principal Investigator: Andy Walker
Project Summary: This project is a collaboration between two national labs and private-industry practitioners to advance photovoltaic (PV) systems operations and maintenance (O&M). Using data from the field in different climates and weather conditions, the team is focused on understanding operational risks, drivers, and cause-and-effect relationships that lead to low performance ratios and high O&M costs. The team is conducting foundational analysis to create best practices and international standards for the reliability and availability of residential, commercial, and utility-scale PV.

Project Name: Nova Analysis: Valuing the Contribution of Solar to Grid-interactive Efficient Homes
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory       
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $1,800,000
Principal Investigator: Emma Elgqvist
Project Summary: There is a need to explore and evaluate a new framework that considers PV, DERs and EE co-optimization and/or co-adoption with new or enhanced existing metrics to determine values to grid operators, developers, energy service providers, homeowners, and communities. The project develops and tests a suite of new and existing metrics to quantify the ability for residential buildings with various energy technology bundles to meet a set of objectives and associated value streams of relevance to different actors (e.g. developers, system operators) in the energy system.

Project Name: Next Generation Integrated PV Products Cost and Workflow Analysis
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory       
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $200,000
Principal Investigator: Jeff Cook
Project Description: Residential PV costs have fallen consistently for over a decade and have trended towards the Department of Energy's (DOE) 2020 targets. DOE has subsequently developed new cost targets for 2030 and Ardani et al. (2018) conclude that integrated roofing and PV products are key to achieving the residential target. These products have the potential to provide customer acquisition, labor, and equipment cost savings over traditional rooftop PV. Several companies, including CertainTeed, GAF, LUMA, and Tesla, have recently introduced integrated roofing and PV products. NREL is partnering with all four manufacturers (and related installers) to analyze three research questions: How do current roofing integrated PV products compare to racked and mounted PV in terms of costs, install times, and processes? How are roofing integrated PV products installed and are there opportunities for cost savings? What are the key barriers to expanding market opportunities for integrating solar and roofing products?

Project Name: Seasonal Impact of Forest Fires on Solar Generation, Energy Prices and Reserve Requirements
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory       
Location: Golden, CO    
DOE Award Amount: $400,000
Principal Investigator: Manajit Sengupta
Project Summary: Forest fires increase atmospheric aerosol loading and significantly impact solar radiation, and thus solar energy generation, during fire episodes. Forest fires in the Western United States have increased significantly over the last few decades, which has led to significant uncertainty and variability of energy availability and reserve requirements under high-solar energy penetration modeling scenarios. An estimate of the impacts (seasonal, daily, or hourly) is required to make informed decisions on reserve planning, generation scheduling, and reliability investments.   This project is quantifying changes to solar power availability during wildfire events and the impact on energy prices, generation scheduling, reserve requirements, and associated costs of reliability, based on available scenario data of projected fire activity out to 2050 for various solar penetration levels in California.

Project Name: Regional Real-Time PV Spinning Reserve Estimator
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory       
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $190,000
Principal Investigator: Vahan Gevorgian
Project Summary: Curtailed PV generation is a zero-marginal cost spinning reserve that can be used for a number of active power control services. This project uses a High Sustainable Limit (HSL) estimation method that was developed by NREL to more accurately predict PV generation availability in real time so PV projects can adequately provide spinning reserves as a grid reliability service. The project team will enhance this method with machine learning algorithms to ensure better accuracy. They will also apply this method to regional clusters of PV plants in California and develop a software subroutine allowing accurate estimation of PV reserves on a power system level using CAISO data

Project Name: Resilient Planning for DERs: Data Standards and Multi-DER Evaluation
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $1,500,000
Principal Investigator: Paritosh Das
Project Summary: This project seeks to advance and standardize data, methods, and tools to incorporate distributed energy resources (DERs) like solar into planning at the distribution and transmission scales. This project will define data standards for multiple DER models, calibrate and build multi-DER models and forecasts, develop integrated multi-DER forecasts, and enhance the dGen tool—which simulates customer adoption of DER for residential, commercial, and industrial entities—by developing a graphical user interface and linking it with other DOE-funded tools, such as SAM and ReOPT. This project will also help stakeholders incorporate adoption forecasts into long-term grid planning and operational decisions.

Project Name: Rooftop Photovoltaics and Electric Vehicle Co-Adoption: Attitudes, Norms, Diffusion, and Economics
Awardee: University of Delaware
Location: Newark, DE
DOE Award Amount: $2,000,000
Principal Investigator: Jeremy Firestone
Project Summary: This project is researching the decision-making of photovoltaic (PV) adopters, electric vehicle (EV) adopters and PV/EV co-adopters. The team will identify and evaluate possible drivers of co-adoption, such as whether providing certain information about solar and electric vehicles impacts the decision to co-adopt. This research will lead to a large, first-of-its-kind national dataset of PV-EV co-adopters and factors that facilitate or hinder co-adoption.

Project Name: Patterns and Value of Co-Adoption of Solar and Related Energy Technologies
Awardee: Yale University
Location: New Haven, CT
DOE Award Amount: $1,600,000
Principal Investigator: Kenneth Gillingham
Project Summary: This project is studying the combined adoption of solar plus energy efficiency, energy storage, and/or electric vehicles. . The team is conducting two field trials, one in Alaska and one in Connecticut. The field trial in Alaska will study the connection between energy efficiency audits and solar energy adoption. The field trial in Connecticut will study adoption patterns of residential solar and behind-the-meter energy storage using group purchasing. The team will analyze how solar plus storage effects residential energy use and value of each to the grid, as well as the impacts when electric vehicles are also present.

Project Name: Defining Safe and Efficient Interconnection Policies for Energy Storage and Solar + Storage to Improve Integration and Reduce Costs
Awardee: Interstate Renewable Energy Council
Location: Albany, NY
DOE Award Amount: $1,300,000
Principal Investigator: Radina Valova
Project Summary: This project identifies and addresses interconnection barriers to solar and energy storage by developing best practices and technical solutions. The team will create a tool kit that will inform the development and updating of state standards and utility tariffs and use it to educate and train regulators and utilities in at least 35 states. This project will help states and utilities reduce the costs and time it takes to process applications and interconnect energy storage and solar-plus-storage systems safely, while maintaining grid reliability.

Project Name: Developing Consensus Recommendations to Address Challenges with Solar and Solar + Storage Code Enforcement and Permitting Approvals
Awardee: Interstate Renewable Energy Council
Location: Albany, NY
DOE Award Amount: $1,500,000
Principal Investigator: Larry Sherwood
Project Summary: The Interstate Renewable Energy Council and its partners, which include the International Association of Electrical Inspectors and the International Association of Firefighters, among others, will address challenges to efficient solar and solar plus storage permitting. The team will survey stakeholders to learn what complicates code enforcement and create a regular video call forum for interested stakeholders to discuss issues. This project team will develop consensus recommendations that advance adoption of data-driven permitting and inspection best practices, ultimately leading to growth in new markets and cutting red tape for safe solar and solar-plus-storage projects.

Project Name: Distribution Grid Integration Cost Analysis
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $2,790,000
Principal Investigator: Shibani Ghosh
Project Description: This project provides bottom-up analysis on the distribution system costs associated with integrating distributed photovoltaic (DPV) while maintaining reliability and power quality. These costs will be analyzed as a function of penetration level, and for a variety of circuit types, DPV locations, and integration strategies in order to inform: 1) the range and order-of-magnitude that may be expected for distribution grid integration costs at different DPV penetration levels and 2) the primary drivers of integration costs and pathways to reduced integration costs.

Project Name: Methods for Enhancing Accuracy and Usefulness of Hosting Capacity Maps
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $200,000
Principal Investigator: Adarsh Nagarajan
Project Summary: Hosting capacity analyses and hosting capacity maps are intended to guide the interconnection of distributed energy resource (DERs) to low-cost and/or high-value grid locations. However, developers in states with hosting capacity maps can lack confidence in these tools and their underlying analyses. This project will enhance confidence in and usage of hosting capacity maps in order to aid in the reduction of DER interconnection costs. This will be achieved by (1) creating a set of procedures for quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) that can be used on input data to and the results of hosting capacity analyses, and (2) identifying common issues and errors encountered in hosting capacity analyses. Training will be provided to utilities and public utility commissions on how to implement these QA/QC procedures.

Project Name: Smart Meter Data: A Gateway for Reducing Solar Soft Costs with Model-Free Hosting Capacity Maps
Awardee: Sandia National Laboratories
Location: Albuquerque, NM
DOE Award Amount: $2,000,000
Principal Investigator: Matthew Reno
Project Summary: Current methods for generating public-facing solar hosting capacity (HC) maps, which show the maximum amount of solar energy that can be installed at a location without adverse effects, require detailed grid models and time-consuming simulations that limit both their accuracy and scalability. Today, only a handful out of almost 2,000 utilities provide these maps. Leveraging recent large-scale investments in smart meter infrastructure, this project is developing data-driven algorithms for calculating solar hosting capacity at any smart meter location without the need of detailed grid models or simulations. The algorithms will be validated on utility datasets and incorporated as a beta version into NRECA’s Open Modeling Framework (OMF.coop).

Project Name: SolarAPP+ Enhancements and Commercialization
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $4,000,000
Principal Investigator: Jeff Cook
Project Summary: NREL and its project partners are improving and further commercializing the existing SolarAPP tool. SolarAPP currently provides installers with a standard, streamlined portal for entering permit information for residential solar systems across all participating Authorities Having Jurisdictions (AHJs), transparency into permitting timelines, and required specifications. NREL and its project partners are also providing technical assistance and training for AHJs and installers to help them adopt the tool.

Project Name: SolSmart
Awardee: Interstate Renewable Energy Council and the International City/County Management Association
Location: Albany, NY and Washington, DC
DOE Award Amount: $15,000,000
Principal Investigator: Theresa Perry and Scott Annis
Project Description: This project established SolSmart, a national designation and technical assistance program that recognizes cities, counties, and regional organizations that foster the development of mature local solar markets. Communities earn SolSmart designation (bronze, silver, gold) by adopting best practices and taking steps to encourage solar development. The program offers free technical assistance to communities to help streamline processes—like planning, zoning, inspection, and training—that make it faster and easier to go solar. More than 400 communities in 41 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have received SolSmart designations.

Project Name: Stakeholder Training for IEEE 1547-2018
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $970,313
Principal Investigator: David Narang
Project Summary: The revised IEEE 1547 (IEEE 1547-2018) standard for interconnection and interoperability of distributed energy resources (DERs) at the distribution level was published in April 2018.  The new standard is significantly different, with new concepts and new technical requirements, and will require educational material on the application of these changes. NREL had a principal role in accelerating the revision process though its chairmanship of the IEEE 1547 working group to revise the standard and through technical support provided to the working group. Under this project, NREL and its partners will compile and develop education materials for IEEE 1547-2018 and make them publicly available. Specifically, NREL will (1) form a Technical Education Committee (TEC) of stakeholders; (2) develop a series of educational modules; (3) publish educational materials online; (4) develop a guide for adoption of IEEE 1547-2018 to aid state regulators; and (5) provide technical assistance to stakeholders. NREL will coordinate education and dissemination with other entities to avoid duplication of efforts.

Project Name: Developing Socially and Economically Generative, Resilient PV-Energy Systems for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities: Applications to Puerto Rico
Awardee: Arizona State University
Location: Tempe, AZ
DOE Award Amount: $1,215,891 (Federal Share)
Principal Investigator: Clark Miller
Project Summary: The project team is developing innovative approaches and models to enable Puerto Rico’s low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities to better understand how they can use solar energy to improve resilience and energy affordability. The team will analyze and model different approaches for expanding solar energy access, including household, business, community, and utility-based solar solutions. Researchers will map the solar opportunity for LMI communities in Puerto Rico and conduct deeper analysis of specific representative communities. 

Project Name: Bringing LMI Solar Financing Models to Scale
Awardee: Clean Energy States Alliance
Location: Montpelier, VT
DOE Award Amount: $1,023,239
Principal Investigator: Warren Leon       
Project Summary: There have been several pilot and small-scale efforts to tackle the challenges of financing low- to moderate- income (LMI) projects, but there hasn’t been a multistate or regionwide initiative. This project is researching three new solar program designs and associated financing models to expand and scale solar access to low- and moderate-income single-family homes, mobile homes, and multifamily homes. This project will focus on analyzing the outcomes of these newly piloted business models then, when appropriate, assessing how they could be scaled to multiple states. Specifically, the team will analyze: the Connecticut Green Bank model to serve LMI single-family homeowners; the New Mexico state model to develop “PV on a pole” prototypes that can be inexpensively manufactured and installed widely at mobile homes; and the Clean Energy Group model to work with affordable housing organizations to use non-government funded loan guarantees and other strategies to finance solar and solar plus battery storage for multifamily affordable housing buildings.

Project Name: Effective Knowledge Dissemination for LMI Solar: The Roles of Community Organizations and State Governments
Awardee: Clean Energy States Alliance
Location: Montpelier, VT
DOE Award Amount: $1,100,000
Principal Investigator: Warren Leon
Project Summary: This project is studying the knowledge dissemination and collaboration practices among state energy agencies and community-based organizations (CBOs) that are partnering to expand access to solar. This team is also developing case studies of successful state/community collaborations and provide technical assistance to community organizations and state energy agencies trying to work together to increase solar access.

Project Name: Revolving Program Related Investments Energy Savings Fund
Awardee: Grid Alternatives
Location: Oakland, CA
DOE Award Amount: $999,470
Principal Investigator: Joel Blaine
Project Summary: The team is designing, building, testing, and scaling an innovative financing and project-development model that could expand photovoltaic access to low- and moderate-income Americans. The model, which incorporates new sources of capital, aims to lower solar electricity costs and reduce creditworthiness as a barrier of entry, particularly in the development of multifamily rooftop and ground-mounted community solar projects that are 50-500 kilowatts.

Project Name: Accelerating Low-Income Financing and Transactions for Solar Access Everywhere (LIFT Solar Everywhere)
Awardee: Groundswell
Location: Washington, DC
DOE Award Amount: $1,500,000
Principal Investigator: Lori Michelle Moore
Project Summary: This team is assessing the replicability and scalability of a variety of solar financing models that could enable greater solar access, including a private finance option similar to a utility credit structure; a “pay as you save” structure that pays for solar with shared savings; and a credit enhancement model that leverages alternative financing like loss reserves offered through foundations, municipal authorities, or public-private partnerships. The team will analyze adoption rates and performance data from ongoing projects, with an eye toward optimizing the models for scale.

Project Name: Activating Opportunity Zones for Accelerated Solar+Storage Deployment in LMI Communities
Awardee: Houston Advanced Research Center
Location: The Woodlands, TX
DOE Award Amount: $500,000
Principal Investigator: Gavin Dillingham
Project Summary: This project is developing a cost-effective solar financing program in low- to moderate-income (LMI) opportunity zones in the underserved Texas deregulated power market to accelerate solar deployment. The project will research and develop new ownership and financing structures, leveraging opportunity zones, to increase the accessibility to solar energy among low-income communities.

Project Name: Developing and Piloting Solar Financing Models to Expand PV Access to Low- and Moderate-Income Americans
Awardee: International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology
Location: Lakewood, CO
DOE Award Amount: $999,935
Principal Investigator: Ravi Malhotra
Project Summary: This team is partnering with utilities, multifamily affordable housing (MFAH) projects, and private investors to create and validate an aggregated shared solar financing model. This financing model aims to reduce project costs and risks that have prevented MFAH solar development. The goal of this project is to develop a sustainable and scalable approach to deploy PV (and potentially energy storage) to benefit the low-income residents living in multifamily affordable housing.

Project Name: Inclusive Shared Solar Initiative
Awardee: National Association of State Energy Officials
Location: Arlington, VA
DOE Award Amount: $1,000,000
Principal Investigator: Sandy Fazeli
Project Summary: In partnership with the National Energy Assistance Directors Association and the Energy Programs Consortium, this project team is bringing together state agencies, utilities, solar providers, and financial institutions to pilot low-income community solar programs. This project, inspired by the New York State Solar for All program, is leveraging the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), state and local incentives, and other capital funding sources to promote the development of community solar for low- to moderate-income customers.

Project Name: Addressing Regulatory Barriers to Tribal Adoption of Solar PV
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $1,400,000
Principal Investigator: Karin Wadsack
Project Summary: This project is addressing common barriers to tribal deployment of solar and solar + storage technologies through stakeholder engagement, data analysis, and capacity building. The project consists of three phases: 1) stakeholder engagement to define the barriers to deployment; 2) data analysis of the barriers and development of a guidebook to address them; and 3) capacity building to aid stakeholders in using the guidebook in their contexts. The final product will be a two-volume guidebook for tribes (Vol. 1) and regulators/utilities (Vol. 2) to articulate key barriers to tribal solar adoption and ready stakeholders to implement options to address them. Sub-outputs will include trainings on the guidebooks and how to implement the strategies.

Project Name: Economic Potential and Benefits of Low-Income Solar Access Pathways
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $1,200,000
Principal Investigator: Jenny Heeter
Project Summary: Solar PV can be used to reduce the energy burden of low-income customers, but to date, these customers have not adopted solar at the same rate as other income groups. This project will create a data platform capability, funding pathways, and benefit allocation frameworks to expand solar access for low- and medium-income households. First, it will create a solar data access platform within EERE’s SLOPE tool to enable users to assess and compare solar access and LMI adoption options. Second, it will examine the feasibility and barriers to using weatherization and LIHEAP funds for rooftop and community solar in combination with cost-effective energy efficiency measures. Third, it will define and pilot benefit allocation frameworks from utility-scale PV. These three activities will enable local analysis of LMI solar adoption, and study and test mechanisms for delivering cost savings from utility-scale PV directly to LMI consumers.

Project Name: National Community Solar Partnership and Sharing the Sun (STS): Community Solar Data and Cost
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO, and Berkeley, CA
DOE Award Amount: $5,093,405
Principal Investigators: Robin Burton and Gregory Leventis
Project Summary: The National Community Solar Partnership is a coalition of community solar stakeholders working to expand access to affordable community solar to every U.S. household and enable communities to realize meaningful benefits, such as reduced energy burden, increased resilience, and workforce development. The “Sharing the Sun (STS): Community Solar Data and Cost” report analyzes data on existing community solar programs, benchmarks community solar costs compared to other solar options, and identifies pathways for new community solar program designs, such as community solar paired with storage. Working with experts in the solar industry, academia, and other relevant entities, the project team is developing a streamlined data-reporting process that could help to lower the cost of community solar projects, as well as next-generation community solar programs that can provide enhanced grid reliability.

Project Name: Solar Energy Innovation Network
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $15,825,298
Principal Investigator: Eric Lockhart
Project Summary: This project assembles diverse teams of stakeholders to research solutions to real-world challenges associated with solar energy adoption. Teams can include community-based organizations, state and local governments, regulators, utilities, and for-profits. In conjunction with its partner organizations, NREL implements the program by providing research, analysis, and technical expertise directly to project teams by facilitating learning within and across teams, and by facilitating dissemination and replication of solutions and lessons learned among stakeholders across the U.S. with similar challenges. Two rounds of the program have been run since 2017. The current round is focused on overcoming barriers to equitable adoption of solar in underserved communities.

Project Name: Cooperatives Achieving Rural Equity in Solar
Awardee: National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
Location: Arlington, VA
DOE Award Amount: $1,000,000
Principal Investigator: Lisa Slaughter
Project Summary: This project provides models, best practices, and other materials for cooperative utilities, solar developers, and community and regional financial institutions to expand solar affordability in low- to moderate-income communities. The team will investigate solutions that will streamline customer access to solar, enable small-scale solar projects to obtain the same economic benefits as larger-scale projects, and use financial mechanisms that leverage opportunity zone benefits. The project incorporates participation from rural electric cooperatives, community and regional financial institutions, nonprofits, foundations, solar developers, economic development agencies, and current and potential customers.

Project Name: Product Innovation to Increase Low-to-Moderate-Income Customers’ Adoption of Community Solar PV
Awardee: Solstice Initiative
Location: Cambridge, MA
DOE Award Amount:  $$1,056,394
Principal Investigator: Lauren Levine
Project Summary: Approximately 77% of U.S. households cannot access rooftop solar and 40% of homes earning less than $40,000 per year only make up less than 5% of U.S. solar installations. Low- and moderate-income households are often excluded from community solar because of information asymmetries, prohibitively high credit score requirements, and restrictive contract terms. This project aims to expand photovoltaic solar access to households by evaluating the use of an alternate credit score, previously developed by Solstice Initiative, and performing tests to understand the most suitable contract terms for different LMI customer segments. The project is exploring ways to deploy alternative capital in partnership with foundations, community development financial institutions, and others to produce and pilot a suite of community and shared solar contracts that can meet the needs of LMI households. The team is also performing rigorous data analysis concerning the factors that affect the financial viability of LMI-inclusive projects. This will help to expand the solar market, lower customer acquisition costs, and increase solar affordability. 

Project Name: Accessible Training and Shared Capitalization Platforms for Low-Income Solar Finance
Awardee: University of New Hampshire
Location: Durham, NH
DOE Award Amount: $1,290,000
Principal Investigator: Michael Swack
Project Summary: This project team is working with community finance institutions to create training programs and shared capitalization platforms that enable credit unions, community banks, and community development financial institutions to expand their engagement in solar finance in low-income communities. Completion of these web-based trainings on the tools and techniques of solar finance will yield a certificate from the University of New Hampshire. The team will strive to have at least 300 staff at community finance institutions participate in the trainings during the project period.  

Project Name: Addressing Regulatory Burdens to Accessing Solar Among Municipal, Commercial, and Institutional Customers
Awardee: World Resources Institute
Location: Washington, DC
DOE Award Amount: $600,000
Principal Investigator: Lori Bird
Project Summary: This project is educating local governments about how wholesale markets and utility asset planning impact their ability to meet their local clean energy goals and how to engage in these stakeholder processes. The team is convening stakeholders to facilitate collaboration, conducting research to advance the state of knowledge, and developing resources to encourage replication nationally.

Project Name: Developing a Deep Learning-Computer Vision Framework to Monitor Avian Interactions with Solar Energy Facility Infrastructure
Awardee: Argonne National Laboratory
Location: Lemont, IL
DOE Award Amount: $1,300,000
Principal Investigator: Yuki Hamada
Project Summary:  This project is developing a technology for automated monitoring of avian-solar interactions, specifically fly-through, perching, and collisions, using deep learning (DL) models that are executed on edge-computing cameras. At the end of this project, the technology will be ready for systematic field trials at solar PV facilities.

Project Name: Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Light Detection and Ranging/Camera Technologies to Detect Avian Events and Other Environmental Measures at Utility-Scale Power Plants
Awardee: Electric Power Research Institute
Location: Palo Alto, CA
DOE Award Amount: $1,400,000
Principal Investigator: Christian Newman
Project Summary: This project is developing machine-learning models for monitoring birds at solar facilities using two complementary remote sensing technologies: drones and 3-D imaging. The drones will be used to detect bird carcasses and nests while simultaneously performing other site inspection tasks, and the 3-D imaging will be used to detect avian collisions. The team will develop and test both technologies in the field to compare them and validate their effectiveness and cost.

Project Name: AquaPV: Foundational Analysis and Industry Guidance on Floating PV for Reservoirs and Estuaries
Awardee: Idaho National Laboratory
Location: Idaho Falls, ID
DOE Award Amount: $1,080,000
Principal Investigator: Thomas Mosier
Project Summary: This project is developing a tool called AquaPV to analyze proposed floating photovoltaics (PV) projects for hydropower dams, reservoirs, and estuaries. The project team will build computer models of floating PV systems, and collect data on real systems, to evaluate how these installations perform economically and how they affect the local environment. AquaPV will optimize the economic and environmental value of floating PV systems.

Project Name: Solar@Scale: Improving the Local Rules of the Game for Large-Scale Solar
Awardee: International City/County Management Association
Location: Washington, DC
DOE Award Amount: $1,000,000
Principal Investigator: Scott Annis
Project Summary: This project team brings together public- and private-sector stakeholders to identify best practices for local governments, special districts, and other authorities that have jurisdiction to install large-scale solar projects. They are developing tools and resources for procedures, analysis, and communications related to permitting, zoning, regulations, and planning for these installations, especially on public and municipal lands, brownfields, and in rural areas. The team will disseminate this information through workshops, trainings, and other programming.

Project Name: Community-Centered Solar Development: Exploring the Key Enabling Community Factors, Impacts and Opportunities for Large-Scale Solar Projects
Awardee: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Location: Berkeley, CA
DOE Award Amount: $2,500,000
Principal Investigator: Ben Hoen
Project Summary: This project is developing tools and resources that can help communities create large-scale solar projects that meet their specific needs. Researchers will collect data on large-scale solar projects across the country and conduct surveys and focus-group interviews to better understand community impacts and stakeholder concerns. The team will collect information on solar projects of various sizes and locations, including those on brownfield and greenfield sites, co-located with agriculture, and near underserved communities. Results will be used to guide development of community-centered solar projects and publish a guidebook, checklist, and educational materials for communities across the country.

Project Name: The Agri-Solar Clearinghouse
Awardee: National Center for Appropriate Technology
Location: Butte, MT
DOE Award Amount: $1,430,481
Principal Investigator: Stacie Peterson
Project Summary: This project is establishing an online national resource clearinghouse and technical assistance program for farmers, solar companies, and other stakeholders interested in co-locating solar and agriculture. The clearinghouse will include research findings, data, online tools, and other resources that address barriers to solar-agriculture co-location. The project will also connect participants through an online forum, mailing list, workshops, and farm tours to facilitate peer exchange and mentoring.

Project Name: PV Stormwater Management Research and Testing (PV-SMaRT)
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $800,000
Principal Investigator: James McCall
Project Summary:  Ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) sites are often considered disconnected impervious surfaces in local water quality permitting. Simple spreadsheet models currently used in many jurisdictions are unable to rigorously estimate the impact of solar installations on stormwater runoff. The team will conduct field research on stormwater infiltration and runoff at solar installation sites; validate a model to understand, predict, and manage water resources; and engage with local jurisdictions. The project will result in research-based, solar-specific resources for estimating stormwater runoff at ground-mounted PV facilities, as well as stormwater management and water quality best practices.

Project Name: InSPIRE 3.0
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $3,750,0000
Principal Investigator: Jordan Macknick
Project Summary: Co-locating solar projects with agricultural land uses such as grazing, crop production, and ecologically beneficial vegetation can potentially provide benefits to farmers, the solar industry, and to ecosystems. Prior InSPIRE 1.0 and 2.0 projects demonstrated the feasibility of these novel configurations and designs at multiple test sites around the country. InSPIRE 3.0 builds on this work by (1) continuing to engage the research community; (2) developing standard research protocols and a research roadmap; and (3) undertaking targeted field-based research projects that evaluate crop production, ecosystem services, PV performance, soil quality, and sheep grazing.

Project Name: Solar Siting and Land Use in Decarbonized Energy Systems
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $1,500,000
Principal Investigator: Wesley Cole
Project Summary: The solar energy needed to decarbonize the electricity sector will require the use of millions of acres of land, but current modeling does not account for land use in a detailed way. The goal of this project is to better understand how various land uses or restrictions on solar deployment could impact the cost of decarbonizing the power sector. The team will compile data on the effects of future infrastructure development, climate change, and urbanization on the availability of land for solar installations. The data sets, modeling tools, and scenarios will be publicly available so researchers and the energy industry can generate future energy scenarios.

Project Name: Integrated PV System Design and Management Platform for the Co-Optimization of Regenerative Cattle Grazing and PV Solar Generation
Awardee: Silicon Ranch Corporation
Location: Nashville, TN
DOE Award Amount: $1,669,280
Principal Investigator: Michael Baute
Project Summary: This project is testing a novel design for a solar panel tracker and control system to accommodate pasture-based cattle grazing under the solar panels. The project will analyze the impact of the solar panels on cattle, solar equipment, and the grassland ecosystem under the panels. This novel design includes considerations for the time that cattle remain in each paddock and how the tracking system operates when cattle are grazing nearby.

Project Name: Building a Framework to Genetically Characterize “Feather Spots” and Understand Demographic Impacts of Solar Energy Sites on Migratory Bird Populations
Awardee: University of California, Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles, CA
DOE Award Amount: $1,600,000
Principal Investigator: Ryan Harrigan
Project Summary: This project  is applying new genetic-based methodologies to characterize feathers recovered from solar energy facilities by species, population of origin, and individual to improve data on bird mortality at solar facilities. The resulting data will be used to develop models to evaluate the risk of solar energy facilities to specific bird populations. The results of this project can be used to develop cost-effective bird monitoring and mitigation strategies at solar facilities.

Project Name: Quantifying and Valuing Fundamental Characteristics and Benefits of Floating Photovoltaic (FPV) Systems
Awardee: University of Central Florida
Location: Cocoa, FL
DOE Award Amount: $850,000
Principal Investigator: John Sherwin
Project Summary: Floating photovoltaics (FPV) has emerged as a viable and deployable renewable energy technology in many places around the world, but research on the performance, durability, and environmental impacts of FPV is limited. This project is collecting FPV performance, water quality, and biodiversity data at several FPV sites on artificial water bodies in the U.S. Project data will be analyzed for peer-reviewed journal publications and made publicly available.

Project Name: Evaluation of Economic, Ecological, and Performance Impacts of Co-Located Pollinator Plantings at Large-Scale Solar Installations
Awardee: University of Illinois
Location: Chicago, IL
DOE Award Amount: $1,800,000
Principal Investigator: Iris Caldwell
Project Summary: This project is examining the economic, ecological, and performance impacts of pollinator habitats co-located at five large-scale solar photovoltaic facilities (10 MW or larger) in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. The team will develop guidance and decision-making tools for solar-pollinator habitat projects, including a pollinator planting manual, cost-benefit calculator, native seed mix selection tool, and pollinator assessment tool. These tools will address critical stakeholder questions, including project costs, return on investments, logistical needs, and site- or project-specific constraints.

Project Name: Impacts of Dual-Use Solar on Crop Productivity and the Agricultural Economy in Massachusetts and Beyond
Awardee: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Location: Amherst, MA
DOE Award Amount: $1,800,000
Principal Investigator: Dwayne Breger
Project Summary: The project is assessing crop productivity, soil health, and microclimatic conditions for a range of crops under various solar array designs project at eight operating commercial farms in Massachusetts. The team is also modeling the economic impact of solar-agriculture co-location on farms and surrounding regions and studying public acceptance of solar-agriculture co-location. The project will result in practical co-location management guidelines for growers, solar developers, and other relevant stakeholders.

Project Name: Mapping and Bridging Barriers in Knowledge Flows of How Solar Photovoltaics Affect Rural Community Economies
Awardee: University of Michigan
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
DOE Award Amount: $1,000,000
Principal Investigator: Michael Craig
Project Summary: Rural counties do not necessarily include utility-scale solar in their zoning rules, which can cause delays and increase soft costs for solar developers. This project is researching how rural communities in the Great Lakes region learn about and decide whether to zone for utility-scale solar. This project will also test various information dissemination strategies and study the impact of utility-scale solar on the economies of rural areas.

Project Name: Multi-Sector Solar Career Training Initiative for Native Americans and Veterans
Awardee: Blue Lake Rancheria
Location: Blue Lake, CA
DOE Award Amount: $599,999
Principal Investigator: David Narum
Project Summary: This project provides integrated solar-career training for Native Americans, veterans, and Native American veterans. Blue Lake Rancheria will offer workshops, training, and hands-on learning experiences for a variety of solar-related skill sets. The training will emphasize cross-sector skill building as well as the needs and experiences of veterans and Native Americans. Trainings will be tailored to areas of likely growth in the solar industry as well as the skills of the program participants.

Project Name: Grid Ready Energy Analytics Training with Data
Awardee: Electric Power Research Institute
Location: Knoxville, TN
DOE Award Amount: $6,532,977
Principal Investigator: Thomas Reddoch
Project Summary: The Grid Ready Energy Analytics Training with Data (GREAT with Data) initiative enhances workforce readiness in the electric utility industry by focusing on the intersection of power systems and digital systems. The project will develop and deliver open-source professional training and university course content in data science, cybersecurity, integration of solar photovoltaic and other distributed energy resources, and information and communication technology for power systems workers in transmission and distribution. Through collaboration with utility and university partners, this initiative will develop certifications, credentials, qualifications, and standards for the training and education needed in the electric utility workplace to help transform the grid of the future. 

Project Name: Dynamic and Responsive DER Educational Solutions for Building, Fire, and Safety Department Officials
Awardee: Interstate Renewable Energy Council
Location: Albany, NY
DOE Award Amount: $2,100,000
Principal Investigator: Kristen Ferguson
Project Summary: This project establishes a comprehensive online platform of information related to distributed energy resource safety and develops a job-focused, interactive online training program. Educational materials and resources will focus on clean energy codes, standards, permitting, and inspection for building managers, owners, and officials interacting with solar energy and storage systems.

Project Name: The National Solar Jobs Accelerator
Awardee: Interstate Renewable Energy Council
Location: Washington, DC
DOE Award Amount: $2,000,000
Principal Investigator: Richard Lawrence
Project Summary: This project aims to accelerate the integration of transitioning military-service members and veterans into solar careers. In partnership with Hiring our Heroes, the Solar Energy Industries Association, and the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, the team will demonstrate a viable, scalable, work-based learning model that places transitioning service members into traineeships and apprenticeships ranging from technical sales and design to installation and project development. By engaging community and technical colleges, workforce boards, and community and economic development organizations in high-demand markets, the team will initiate intensive industry partnerships and better leverage the workforce community.

Project Name: Expanding the Solar Workforce through the Illinois Community College System
Awardee: Lewis and Clark Community College
Location: Godfrey, IL
DOE Award Amount: $1,250,000
Principal Investigator: Katie Davis
Project Summary: This project expands the solar workforce through a statewide program that strengthens the connections between education and training providers, job seekers, industry, and local communities. The team will build upon current solar-related courses and programs available at Illinois community colleges and make improvements through credentialing, instructional design, and new industry partnerships to better align with employer needs. The program will also make sure that licensure is embedded within the program and leverage all potential talent pools, including veterans.

Project Name: Solar Ready Wisconsin
Awardee: Midwest Renewable Energy Association
Location: Custer, WI
DOE Award Amount: $800,000
Principal Investigator: Nick Hylla
Project Summary: This initiative supports the development of a statewide network of industry stakeholders, training providers, and nonprofit organizations working to develop solar workforce capacity in Wisconsin and the surrounding region. In collaboration with a network of local community colleges, MREA is creating a program called the Wisconsin Solar Corps to provide job training and facilitate job placement for qualified candidates in the solar industry. Once a successful model has been developed, MREA will work to make Solar Ready Wisconsin a replicable program that has the potential to be used across the Midwest.

Project Name: Collegiate Solar Innovation Challenge      
Awardee: National Renewable Energy Laboratory       
Location: Golden, CO
DOE Award Amount: $1,550,000
Principal Investigator: Joseph Simon
Project Summary: The Collegiate Solar Innovation Challenge project administers the Solar District Cup, a competition designed to motivate undergraduate students from colleges across the country in engineering, business, architecture, urban planning, data science, and policy fields to develop innovative solutions for a resilient, cost-effective district. Students develop comprehensive plans for the design, performance, financing, marketing, and regulations needed to implement district-wide solar energy, dispatchable energy storage, and interdependent demand-response technologies, helping them prepare for jobs in the solar industry.

Project Name: Bright Solar Futures
Awardee: Philadelphia Energy Authority
Location: Philadelphia, PA
DOE Award Amount: $1,250,000
Principal Investigator: Shonique Banks
Project Summary: This program expands existing efforts in Philadelphia to develop a new, replicable workforce training program for the region’s growing solar industry. The curriculum will include solar installation, construction safety, an introduction to solar sales and design, and other job-readiness programs. Successful program graduates will be placed in internships with local employers and get ongoing support from the program to increase the likelihood of job retention.

Project Name: Safer's Solar Energy Demand Skills Training Program
Awardee: Safer Foundation
Location: Chicago, IL
DOE Award Amount: $800,000
Principal Investigator: Marketer Ash
Project Summary: The Safer Foundation, which focuses on workforce development and programming for people in the criminal justice system, is advancing its Solar Energy Demand Skills Training program to fill the growing workforce needs of the solar industry. The Safer Foundation and its partners across the state of Illinois will provide participants with a comprehensive program based on interests and aptitudes. Experienced solar industry trainers, employers, and supervisors will combine classroom training, hands-on experience in the lab, and real-world installations to enable participants to better understand the sales, design, and installation fields.

Project Name: Cyberguardians and STEM Warriors
Awardee: SunSpec Alliance
Location: San Jose, CA
DOE Award Amount: $1,250,000
Principal Investigator: Thomas Tansy    
Project Summary: Veterans with information technology skills and the ability to use advanced digital tools can lead efforts to modernize the electricity grid and improve the integration of distributed energy resources (DER). This project supports veterans with cybersecurity and information technology training to further develop these skills through new online training modules, accredited curricula, and hybrid training programs in DER system designs, grid operations, data analytics, cyber security, and investment decision support. The program will recruit veterans and transitioning military personnel from military bases and through existing veterans programs and facilitate job placement with utilities, grid operators, and other companies in the DER industry. This program will help to increase the pool of veterans to help fill positions critical to the security of the U.S. electrical grid.