The Solar Energy Technologies Office’s Solar Blog features stories about the office, its awardees, and its work. Learn more.

July 28, 2016

Paying For Solar – Tips For Financing a Residential System

After you’ve made the decision to go solar, the next step is figuring out how to pay for it. Assuming you don’t have the cash to buy your solar energy system upfront, like the vast majority of Americans, there are a variety of financing options to ...

June 28, 2016

Preparing Students for Our Nation’s Changing Energy Portfolio

The utility sector is going through a rapid transformation as more renewables come online and more Americans choose to go solar. Adding large quantities of distributed energy onto the grid requires the workforce to acquire new knowledge and skills, whi...

June 16, 2016

Sun-Powered Schools: Helping Universities Go Solar

Dormitory mini fridges, dishwashers in dining halls, and campus computer labs are just a few of the things that can create large utility bills for colleges and universities across the country. The SunShot Initiative is working to make it easier for col...

June 6, 2016

Top 6 Things You Didn't Know About Solar Energy

Counting down our list of top things you didn't know about solar energy -- read on for more on the most abundant energy resource known to mankind.

May 31, 2016

ENERGISE-ing Solutions to Scale Up Distributed Solar

If a utility pole falls in a forest and no energy company employee is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Currently, the answer is no. The Energy Department’s SunShot Initiative is trying to fix this problem to alleviate issues for both utilitie...

May 18, 2016

Halfway There But Far From Done: SunShot Surges Ahead on Path to Affordable Solar Energy

Halfway through the Energy Department’s decade-long SunShot Initiative, today we released a series of reports showing how the solar industry has progressed in the past five years, while looking forward to the challenges and opportunities it now faces...

May 3, 2016

thumbnail
With 1 Million Solar Projects Across America, SunShot Shines On

The solar industry recently passed a major milestone when the 1 millionth solar system was installed at a home or business in the United States. Find out what the SunShot Initiative has in store for the future of solar as it continues to spur job growt...

February 25, 2016

thumbnail
Soft Costs 101: The Key to Achieving Cheaper Solar Energy

When buying a solar power system, hardware is not the only expense. There are also "soft costs": permits, financing, installation costs, and more. ...

January 19, 2016

EERE SunShot’s SHINES Program: Enabling a Rapidly Solarizing Electricity Grid Through Energy Storage

The Department of Energy has recently created the Grid Modernization Initiative (GMI), an ongoing effort that reflects the Obama Administration’s commitment to improve the resiliency, reliability, and security of the nation’s grid, while adding gro...

September 21, 2015

Vice President Biden Announces New SunShot Projects and Funding Opportunities at Solar Power International Conference

At the Solar Power International conference on September 16, Vice President Joe Biden made one of the largest solar research and development funding announcements to ever come out of our SunShot Initiative. His announcement included more than $102 mill...