The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) supports funding opportunities on photovoltaics, concentrating solar-thermal power, systems integration, technology to market, and soft costs projects. Following an open, competitive solicitation process, these funding opportunities encourage collaborative partnerships among industry, universities, national laboratories, federal, state, and local governments and non-government agencies and advocacy groups. Solicitations may include financial or technical assistance. Learn more about how to apply for a funding opportunity. 

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Learn more about current and past SETO funding programs.

Open Funding Opportunities

• Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Silicon Solar Manufacturing and Dual-use Photovoltaics Incubator – Mandatory concept papers due Sep. 27, 2023 at 5 p.m. ET
• Advancing U.S. Thin-Film Solar Photovoltaics – Mandatory concept papers due Oct. 24, 2023 at 5 p.m. ET
• Solar-thermal Fuels and Thermal Energy Storage via Concentrated Solar-thermal Energy – Mandatory concept papers due Nov. 3, 2023 at 5 p.m. ET
• Materials, Operation, and Recycling of Photovoltaics (MORE PV) – Full applications due Nov. 28, 2023 at 5 p.m. ET

Closed Funding Opportunities – Applications in Review

• Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS): Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power and Photovoltaics
• Operation and Planning Tools for Inverter-Based Resource Management and Availability for Future Power Systems (OPTIMA)

Other Opportunities

• American-Made Solar Prize Round 7 – Submissions due Sep. 27, 2023
• Solar District Cup Class of 2024 – Submissions due Sep. 28, 2023
• American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize - Round 2 – Submissions due Oct. 4, 2023
• American-Made Perovskite Startup Prize – Liftoff Contest submissions due Oct. 5, 2023
• American-Made Heliostat Prize – Semifinalists announced Oct. 9, 2023
• American-Made Solar Data Bounty Prize – Stage 2 Intent-to-Compete Submission Package due Oct. 26, 2023
• American-Made Sunny Awards for Equitable Community Solar – Winners announced Nov. 2023
• American-Made Challenges: Community Power Accelerator Prize – Phase 2 Winners announced late 2023 
• American-Made Challenges: Solar Desalination Prize Round 2 – Design Contest and Test Contest open through Apr. 2025

Solicitations

• There are currently no open solicitations. 

New EERE eXCHANGE Log-In Process: To make the sign-in process more secure, the EERE Funding Opportunity Exchange (eXCHANGE) has been updated to integrate with Login.gov—a secure service used by the public to sign into participating government agencies. All potential applicants and reviewers must have a Login.gov account to apply to open opportunities. Please read the MFA Quick Guide for more information.

Learn more about related funding opportunities within the U.S. Department of Energy and energy-related financial assistance programs in other government agencies.