10 Solar Funding Opportunities

Photo credit: Real Goods Solar

At the end of May, President Obama announced over $117 million in new solar funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. Their proposed end being to support “the widespread commercialization of clean solar technologies and to scale up U.S. Solar manufacturing and production.” The means will likely entail more public-private partnerships between government institutions, laboratories, and universities with private sector firms.

Complementary to the increase in funding are two specific funding opportunities. These will be the first two of the following 10 examples of solar funding opportunities, the vast majority of federal examples distributed via the Solar Energy Technologies Program (SETP).

1. Solar Market Transformation. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is meant to “address market barriers” to the spread of solar technologies. It will focus on the Solar America Cities Projects and solar installer training. The funding is available to the current group of 25 Solar America Cities for projects that are new — no funds available for the renewal of previous government funded projects.
2. High Penetration Solar Deployment. This FOA deals specifically with solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, ranging from the development of “improved modeling tools” to modular power architecture, demonstration projects, and energy storage. The goal is to discover, develop, test, and employ PV models and projects that can better penetrate our national grid distribution system.
3. Minority University Research Associate (MURA) Program. MURA is meant to encourage minority students to pursue careers in science and technology, with up to $1.8 million available for solar energy research and development. Undergraduate and graduate students, plus their faculty advisors, are eligible for up to $300,000 for study topics including PV, concentrated solar power (CSP), solar manufacturing, testing, and studies of applications and markets.
4. Federal Renewable Energy Tax Credit. Well known is the solar component of this recently renewed federal tax credit. Homeowners and businesses can now get up to 30% of their solar system’s initial cost back by way of a federal tax credit — now with no rebate cap on residential applications.
5. State Rebates and Incentives. Solar funding by way of your state government now exists in the vast majority of U.S. states. Opportunities can vary considerably by state, however, so the best way to point you to your state’s opportunities is to point you to our comprehensive list of state incentives. In addition to tax rebates and occasionally grants, many states are attempting to spread solar energy by eliminating sales tax on equipment and a zero-increase in property taxes.
6. Berkeley Solar Program. While it may seem strange to mention the solar program of one city in one state, the implications of Berkeley, California’s solar lending program are reverberating around the world — already catching on in many other places, even Texas where solar funding recently took a big hit. The idea is that the city will tackle the up-front costs of the solar system for the homeowner, who will pay it back over time with a voluntary property tax increase — in Berkeley, about $180 per month.
7. Solar Panel Hosting. Another trend that is picking up speed is solar hosting. In this case businesses and commercial entities, who often occupy large open spaces with large flat roofs, can get much of their solar system paid for by a local utility. The driving forces behind this approach are renewable energy standards, which are pushing utilities to increase their renewable power sources within a set time frame.
8. Solar Leasing. Companies like Solar City are leading the way in this regard. Solar City promotes and organizes group buying, which allows community members to order in bulk, thus saving significant money on equipment and installation costs. They also offer a solar leasing program in which they finance the solar system and you pay a set monthly fee for using it.
9. State Loan Programs. Many states are stepping in to offer low-interest government loans to homeowners wishing to go solar. They cover the initial costs, you pay it back over time. It’s that simple. States like Oregon and New York are prime examples.
10. Desertec. This funding announcement will impact Europeans and Africans directly, but it is worth mentioning because of the sheer size of the proposal. A group of German firms is forming a consortium, beginning in July, to raise over $500 billion to transform Africa’s Sahara desert into a solar mecca for Europe. The funding would pay for CSP plants covering 6,500 acres of North African desert; apparently enough funds to power 15 percent of the entire European continent by 2050.

Posted on June 30th in Solar Funding by Dan.