The Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) funds research and development in three technology areas: photovoltaics (PV), concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP), and systems integration with the goal of improving the affordability, reliability, and domestic benefit of solar technologies on the grid. Learn more about the office's work at our next stakeholder webinar on August 19, 2021, at 1 p.m. ET. 

Solar Energy Basics

Research Areas

Photovoltaics
The Solar office supports development of low-cost, high-efficiency photovoltaic (PV) technologies to make solar power more accessible.
Learn More
Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power
SETO supports CSP research and development to improve the performance, reduce the cost, and improve the lifetime and reliability of CSP technologies.
Learn More
Systems Integration
Systems integration research in SETO helps advance the reliable, resilient, secure, and affordable integration of solar energy onto the nation's grid.
Learn More
Soft Costs
Soft costs research in SETO addresses challenges associated with non-hardware cost components of a solar energy system.
Learn More
Manufacturing and Competitiveness
SETO supports solar manufacturing and competitiveness R&D to develop pathways to commercialization for disruptive innovation in the solar industry.
Learn More
National Laboratory Research and Funding
The Solar Energy Technologies Office partners with the national labs and its researchers to develop innovations that lower the costs of solar energy.
Learn More
Summer of Solar

Join the U.S. Department of Energy for the Summer of Solar! We’re celebrating the diverse people who are taking advantage of the sun’s energy and the communities that are making it easier to go solar. 

VIEW MORE

News and Success Stories

VIEW ALL
DOE Announces $127 Million For Small Business Research And Development Grants
July 20, 2021
Awards were made to a diverse set of small businesses working on advanced scientific tools and clean, secure energy for the American people.
Learn More
DOE Kicks Off 'Summer of Solar 2021' With Tool That Fast-Tracks Solar Power For Communities Nationwide
July 15, 2021
SolarAPP+ Slashes Wait Times for Installation Permits From 20 Days to Zero, DOE Challenges 125 Municipalities to Sign Up for SolarAPP+ Before Summer Ends
Learn More
Leadership Wanted for Cadmium Telluride Photovoltaic Accelerator Consortium
June 28, 2021
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are seeking leadership to manage a new consortium launched through the $20 million Cadmium Telluride Photovoltaic Accelerator Program.
Learn More
The North American Renewable Integration Study
June 24, 2021
The North American Renewable Integration Study (NARIS) assesses opportunities to modernize and decarbonize the North American power system through the integrated planning and operation of generation and transmission infrastructures to meet end-use demand.
Learn More
Solar Energy Research Database

Learn more about active and inactive SETO-funded projects at national laboratories, state and local governments, universities, nonprofit organizations, and private companies in the solar energy research database.

VIEW MORE

Blog Posts

VIEW ALL
Summer of Solar Citizens: Meet Laura Morales
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is celebrating the Summer of Solar, and Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm kicked it off with a visit to Laura Morales’s home in Silver Spring, Maryland, for a firsthand look at her solar panels.
Learn More
Replacing Your Roof? It’s a Great Time to Add Solar
If you’re thinking about replacing your roof, considering adding solar at the same time. NREL researchers estimate that when done together, the average savings could amount to $4,000.
Learn More
Powering On with Grid-Forming Inverters
Learn about the roadmap to use renewable energy to jump-start the grid by using an essential piece of connection equipment known as an inverter.
Learn More
Picture This: Making Perovskite Solar Cells with Kodak Printers
Learn how Energy Materials Corporation (EMC) has been developing a low-cost process to manufacture perovskite photovoltaic (PV) modules.
Learn More