Industry workshops help the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) obtain a wide range of stakeholder feedback to guide the work of the solar office. DOE held the workshops below to identify barriers and opportunities associated with SETO goals.

Workshop summaries and presentation content are available for the following events:

Reimagining Interconnection for Solar Energy (RISE) Workshop

June 10, 2021 | Virtual

This workshop convened non-utility stakeholders in the transmission and distribution space to discuss innovative ways to achieve faster, fairer, and more equitable interconnection while enhancing grid reliability with the addition of solar and solar+ resources such as solar+storage and solar+wind. View the agenda and workshop materials.

Workshop: 2021 SETO Solar Forecasting Research and Development

May 5-6, 2021 | Virtual

This workshop focused on solar forecasting research and development to discuss current state-of-the-art and upcoming advances in topics like data collection, sub-grid modeling, multi-day forecasting, and integration of forecasts into real-world electricity generation. It included keynotes speeches, a panel with independent systems operators, and presentations from SETO Solar Forecasting II funding program awardees. View the key takeaways and download the workshop materials. 

A Force for Change: Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) in the Solar Industry

May 4, 2021 | Virtual

This webinar  featured Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm announcing over $15 million in new funding to support equitable solar deployment by addressing the barriers people face in accessing the benefits of solar, through technical assistance, community solar, and workforce development. View the recording and download the slides.

Streamlining Solar Permitting with SolarAPP+

April 29, 2021 | Virtual

This webinar was held on April 29, 2021, and featured SETO Director Dr. Becca Jones-Albertus, Solar Energy Industries Association President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper, and NREL SolarAPP+ Project Lead Jeff Cook. The Solar Automated Permit Processing (SolarAPP+) tool is an online platform that makes it easier for local governments to quickly and safely approve rooftop solar and solar+storage projects. It was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and a collaborative team of industry and local government stakeholders. This webinar discussed the pilot test of SolarAPP+ and what the future holds for the tool. View the recording and download the slides.

Workshop: Building a Resilient Community Using Distributed Energy Resources

April 7-8, 2021 | Virtual

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) held a virtual workshop with stakeholders to discuss how distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar can help build resilient communities. The workshop featured speakers from across the DOE and its National Laboratories presenting their latest research. The objective of this event was to allow key stakeholders to provide their feedback and help SETO determine how to shape future resilience research. Read more and download the slides. 

100% Clean: How DOE’s Solar Investments Will Help to Achieve Ambitious Decarbonization Goals

March 25, 2021 | Virtual

This webinar featured Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, announcing $128 million in new solar energy initiatives, including DOE's expedited timeline for utility-scale solar cost targets ($0.03 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) by 2025 and $0.02/kWh by 2030), the FY2021 Photovoltaics and Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (PV and CSP) funding opportunity, the Generation 3 CSP final selection, the FY2020 Perovskite Funding Program selections, the Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) PV Accelerator program, and the American-Made Perovskite Startup Prize. Watch the recording and download the slides. 

The Right Combination: Solar, Storage, and Demand Response Webinar Series

February 25-26, 2021 | Virtual

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) hosted a two-day series discussing DOE’s work to develop and demonstrate technologies that enable solar plus energy storage and demand response. These webinars featured presentations from organizations that demonstrated the use of smart inverters in conjunction with smart buildings, smart appliances, and utility communication and control systems.  View the agenda and download the slides. 

2020 Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power Research and Development Virtual Workshop Series

October 20-December 10, 2020 | Virtual

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) hosted a virtual workshop series on the latest research and development in concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) technologies. SETO’s CSP team led a series of presentations, panels, and discussions with global CSP experts on recent technological advances and upcoming R&D challenges. View the agendas and download the slides.

2020 SolarPACES International Conference

September 28-October 2, 2020 | Virtual

Solar Energy Technologies Office Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (CSP) Program Manager Avi Shultz was the SolarPACES (Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems) 2020 International Conference chair. The conference brought together researchers to highlight the latest advances in CSP from around the world, in plenary sessions with the leaders in solar thermal technology development and technical sessions describing the latest advances in research. Download Avi's presentation.

2020 SETO Peer Review

April 6-8, 2020 | Virtual

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) held a virtual 2020 Peer Review April 6-8, 2020. The peer review was designed to spark discussion about all of SETO’s active projects along with leading solar industry experts in order to evaluate program and project progress toward SETO goals. Download the 2020 SETO Peer Review presentations.

ASSIST Technical Program Kickoff Meeting

February 21, 2020 | Washington, D.C.

SETO hosted a program kickoff meeting for all of the projects in the Advanced Systems Integration for Solar Technologies (ASSIST) funding opportunity. These projects are focused on providing utilities with situational awareness of solar photovoltaic systems for managing risk and strengthening the resilience of our nation’s critical infrastructure. The meeting allowed a chance for all of the principal investigators to present their project plans and objectives to their colleagues in an effort to elicit feedback on their projects and find places to collaborate. Download the presentations.

Designing Resilient Communities Stakeholder Advisory Group 2020 Meeting

January 22-23, 2020 | Washington, D.C.

Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy, the fourth semi-annual meeting of the Stakeholder Advisory Group (SAG) for the funded project titled: “Designing Resilient Communities: A Consequence-Based Approach for Grid Investment.” The meetings provided an opportunity to elicit feedback from the SAG about the primary components of the Resilient Community Design framework, continue working groups to further develop shared understanding of these topics, and create a shared vision for a community of practice to overcome challenges in integrated resilience planning. Download the presentations.

U.S. Department of Energy sCO2 Workshop 2019

October 31-November 1, 2019 | Golden, CO

Hosted by the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and the Offices of Fossil Energy and Nuclear Energy, this workshop featured invited speakers and provided an opportunity to discuss the next steps in sCO2 power cycle commercialization and system-level considerations for integration with TES. Download the presentations. 

GMLC Resilient Distribution Systems Year 2 Program Review

October 22-23, 2019 | Washington, D.C.

The Grid Modernization Lab Consortium (GMLC) Resilient Distribution Systems (RDS) Year 2 Program Review provided an opportunity for DOE program managers and National Lab project teams to assess the overall progress of the GMLC-RDS program, exchange preliminary findings, share lessons learned, and facilitate ongoing collaboration among projects. Download the presentations. 

Solar Forecasting 2 Annual Review and Workshop

October 7-8, 2019 | Washington, D.C.

This event highlighted the first year of accomplishments of the Solar Forecasting 2 projects. There was also formal discussion about research gaps and opportunities in solar forecasting. Download the presentations. 

SETO FY2018 Funding Program – Workforce Kickoff Meeting

June 18-19, 2019 | Washington, D.C.

This meeting commenced the beginning of the workforce initiative projects in the SETO FY2018 funding program. Download the presentations. 

Challenges for Solar Distribution Planning and Operations Workshop

May 16-17, 2019 | Washington, D.C.

This event brought together subject-matter experts and SETO-funded researchers to discuss state-of-the-art systems integration technologies that enable the reliable operation of higher penetrations of solar energy onto the grid. Download the presentations. 

SETO CSP Program Summit 2019

March 18-19, 2019 | Oakland, CA

This event brought together SETO-funded awardees and the utility, industry, and research communities to gather and discuss current market activity and research and development for CSP technologies. Download the presentations. 

Power Electronics Program Kickoff

November 15, 2018 | Knoxville, TN

This meeting commenced the beginning of the Advanced Power Electronics Design for Solar Applications (Power Electronics) funding program. Download the presentations.

Solar Forecasting 2 Program Kickoff

July 12, 2018 | Washington, D.C.

This meeting commenced the beginning of the Solar Forecasting 2 funding program. Download the presentations.

Gen3 CSP Program Kickoff

June 25, 2018 | Lake Buena Vista, FL

This meeting commenced the beginning of the Generation 3 Concentrating Solar Power Systems (Gen3 CSP) funding program. Download the presentations.

2018 SETO Peer Review

February 12-14, 2018 | Washington, DC

The 2018 SETO Peer Review explored some of the most advanced solar energy technologies and solutions being developed by SETO awardees across the country. Download the presentations and read the portfolio book.

ENERGISE Program Kickoff

October 11, 2017 | Washington, DC

This meeting commenced the beginning of the Enabling Extreme Real-time Grid Integration of Solar Energy (ENERGISE) funding program. Download the presentations.

2017 SuNLaMP Workshop

July 21, 2017 | Lemont, IL

This workshop was held to highlight several systems integration projects in the SuNLaMP portfolio that focus on reliability and flexibility of electric power grids with large amounts of distributed solar energy. Download the presentations.

2017 Photovoltaic Specialists Conference Poster Session

June 28, 2017 | Washington, DC

The SunShot Poster Crawl at the 44th IEEE Photovoltaics Specialists Conference (IEEE-PVSC) had more than 60 posters created by scientists and researchers from universities, national laboratories, and industry presented regarding recent scientific work supported by several SunShot funding programs. View the posters.

2017 SHINES Program Review

January 30, 2017 | San Diego, CA

This event was held to discuss progress made to date in the Sustainable and Holistic INtegration of Energy Storage and solar PV (SHINES) funding program. Download presentations from each of the six teams.

2017 Gen 3 CSP Systems Workshop

February 1-2, 2017 | Sacramento, CA

This workshop was held to present a R&D Roadmap and technology development pathways of a new generation of high-temperature concentrating solar power (CSP) technology. The SunShot Initiative team sought to solicit feedback from a diverse audience of researchers, component manufacturers, and system integrators to help guide future funding direction. Download the presentations.

2016 Systems Integration Power Electronics Workshop

October 11-12, 2016 | Golden, CO

This workshop was held to identify critical challenges and opportunities associated with integrating high levels of solar energy into the electric grid, specifically in the advanced power electronic area. Download the white paper, agenda, and presentations.

2016 SunShot Strategy Forum: PV Modules and Systems

September 16, 2016 | Las Vegas, NV

This workshop brought together academic and industry stakeholders to discuss key areas for future research and development within photovoltaics. Participants discussed current and future technology barriers and development opportunities in order to inform future funding directions. Download a summary of the workshop.

2016 SunShot Strategy Forum: PV Codes and Standards

September 16, 2016 | Las Vegas, NV

This event featured breakout sessions dedicated to defining key areas for future attention within the photovoltaic (PV) codes and standards space. Participants discussed current and future priorities in order to inform future funding directions. Download the presentations.

2016 Solar Forecasting Workshop

This workshop identified the technical challenges and opportunities in solar forecasting as a capability that can significantly reduce the integration cost of high levels of solar energy into the electricity grid. Download the presentations and white paper.

2015 Grid Integration of Solar Energy Workshop

October 29, 2015

This workshop identified critical challenges and opportunities associated with integrating hundreds of gigawatts of solar energy into the electric grid, assessed state of the art technologies, and proposed a set of solutions that will address near- and long-term research and development needs. Download notes and presentations.

SunShot Grand Challenge Summit and Peer Review 2014

May 19-22, 2014 | Anaheim, CA

Building on the successes of first Grand Challenge Summit in 2012, this premier gathering brought together more than 800 members of the solar community to review the progress made toward the SunShot goal and discuss the challenges ahead to make solar energy more affordable and widespread across America. Download the presentations.

PVMapper: A Tool for Energy Siting

September 17, 2013

This webinar introduced solar developers, environmental consulting firms, data companies, and software developers to a new open-source GIS siting tool. Developed by the Center for Advanced Energy Studies' Energy Policy Institute with support from the SunShot Initiative, the PVMapper project is designed to allow utility-scale solar developers to compare multiple potential sites with a focus on reducing balance of system (BOS) soft costs. These soft costs include variables such as proximity to power infrastructure, endangered species habitat, and potential social implications. This introduction will provide an advanced look at the software, which is currently in beta testing with a target launch date of June 2014.

Below are materials associated with the webinar.

2013 Solar Action Webinar Series

The SunShot Initiative and the Solar Outreach Partnership hosted five webinars as part of the Solar Action Webinar Series: Successes from the Rooftop Solar Challenge. Topics such as financing, zoning, net metering, interconnection, and inspection are covered in this series featuring best practices developed by Rooftop Solar Challenge I teams from across the country.

2013 SunShot CSP Program Review

April 23–25, 2013

The SunShot Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) Program Review 2013, held near Phoenix, Arizona, featured presentations from awardees on the forefront of CSP technologies that are currently or recently funded by the SunShot Initiative.

DOE/CPUC High Penetration Solar Forum Webinar

May 15, 2013

This webinar provided information on the results of the second High Penetration Solar Forum that convened in February, including an overview of DOE's and CPUC's grid integration awards as well as future efforts.

Below are materials associated with the webinar.

Residential PV Price Comparison Webinar

February 28, 2013

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) SunShot Initiative, in conjunction with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), discusses the installed price of residential photovoltaics (PV) being significantly lower in Germany than in the United States. In order to better characterize the nature of these differences, LBNL surveyed German PV installers using a survey on residential PV soft costs that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) previously fielded to U.S. solar installers. This webinar presents a comparative analysis of these surveys and a broader discussion of underlying drivers for soft cost differences between the United States and Germany, with a focus on customer-owned residential solar energy systems.

Below are materials associated with the webinar.

2013 Photovoltaic Module Reliability Workshop

February 26–27, 2013

The Photovoltaic (PV) Module Reliability Workshop was held in Golden, Colorado. The objective was to share information to improve PV module reliability because such improvements reduce the cost of solar electricity and give investors confidence in the technology.

Thermochemical Energy Storage Workshop

January 8, 2013

The concentrating solar power (CSP) program of the SunShot Initiative hosted a workshop on thermochemical energy storage for CSP in Washington, D.C. A distinguishing feature of CSP compared to other renewable technologies is its ability to include thermal energy storage at the point of power generation to handle the intermittencies of solar availability. A thermochemical energy storage system captures solar energy in chemical bonds. These systems offer the potential to achieve much higher specific energy of storage compared to current sensible and latent heat storage options. Thermochemical energy storage, therefore, represents a significant potential for being a cost-effective storage option for CSP, which will help accomplish SunShot goals.

The goal of the workshop was to identify scientific, economic, and engineering challenges and opportunities in developing thermochemical energy storage systems for CSP. To this end, the workshop convened experts from around the world in the areas of high temperature processes, catalyst development, reactor design, chemical and mechanical engineering, and material science; these participants came from academia, industry and national laboratories.

Best Practices in the Design of Utility Solar Programs Webinar

September 27, 2012

This webinar brought together representatives from industry, utilities, and regulatory authorities to share lessons learned from designing and implementing solar energy incentive programs. The discussion featured topics ranging from responding to changing solar costs, implementing consumer protection measures, incentivizing optimal system performance, emerging third-party ownership models, and stimulating various market segments.

Below are materials associated with the webinar.

2012 SunShot Grand Challenge Summit and Technology Forum

June 13-14, 2012 | Denver, Colorado

The Summit and Technology Forum was the first event in a series of Department of Energy Grand Challenges. This event focused on SunShot Initiative goals of achieving grid-parity solar energy by 2020.

Ad Lucem: Modeling Market Transformation Pathways Workshop

February 17, 2012 | Berkeley, California

This SunShot workshop focused on the development, analysis, modeling, and implementation of pathways that could enable solar energy technologies to diffuse at an accelerated rate. A diverse set of researchers and technical experts from academia, industry, government, and national labs provided insight into market dynamics and market transformation pathways.

Below are materials associated with the workshop.

Plug-and-Play Workshop

October 27, 2011 | Washington, D.C.

The purpose of the DOE workshop was to identify the current barriers and possible solutions for the development of plug-and-play solar technologies in the residential sector. Over 60 people attended the conference, including representatives from utilities, code officials, inverter companies, PV module companies, and installers. Results from the workshop are available.

Photovoltaic (PV) Validation and Bankability Workshop

August 31, 2011 | San Jose, Calif.

DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Program hosted a workshop to discuss a planned regional test center program as part of the SunShot Initiative. During the workshop, more than 60 solar industry leaders provided input on ways for the Solar Program to support the needs of the stakeholder community and encourage private financing to fund U.S. PV industry growth.

Below are the presentations given at the workshop. The following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs.

PV Manufacturing Workshop

March 25, 2011 | Berkeley, Calif.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory hosted a SunShot workshop focused on ways to scale up domestic manufacturing of solar energy technologies. Industry partners attending the workshop discussed how government incentives and private investment can continue to stimulate photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing capabilities through corporate partnerships.

Below are the presentations given at the workshop. The following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs.