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**View the summary of findings from this RFI.**

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) has issued a request for information (RFI) on the challenges and opportunities associated with scaling the domestic solar manufacturing workforce.

SETO requests feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on job roles associated with operating U.S.-based manufacturing facilities involved in the production of:

  • Photovoltaic (PV) modules (including crystalline silicon (c-Si) and thin-film)
  • Semiconductor materials and components (e.g., Si metal, polysilicon, ingots, wafers, cells)
  • Materials used to construct PV modules (e.g., solar glass, frames, encapsulants, backsheets, etc.)
  • Other equipment associated with PV systems (e.g., inverters, power optimizers, racking, trackers); however, this RFI does not pertain to batteries used in PV-coupled energy storage systems

The goal of this RFI is to better understand the anticipated quantity, quality, and accessibility of solar manufacturing roles, the required skill sets for these roles, any barriers likely to impact meeting the demand for qualified labor, as well as potential solutions for overcoming these barriers.

DOWNLOAD THE RFI.

Additional Information

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to solarworkforce@ee.doe.gov no later than 5 p.m. ET on June 2, 2023. 

Submit responses as a Microsoft Word (.docx) attachment to an email. Compress (i.e., zip) attachments with file sizes exceeding 25MB to ensure message delivery. Only electronic responses will be accepted.  

Please identify your answers by responding to a specific question or topic if applicable. Respondents may answer as many or as few questions as they wish. 

The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) will not respond to individual submissions or publish publicly a compendium of responses. A response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed. 

Please provide the following information at the start of your response to this RFI: 

  • Company or institution name 
  • Company or institution contact 
  • Contact's address, phone number, and e-mail address  

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