DOE Announces Solar Funding Opportunity

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced a $10 million funding opportunity for “innovative solutions and strategies that maximize benefits and minimize impacts to wildlife and ecosystems from solar energy infrastructure, ” according to a news release by the Solar Energy Technologies Office.

The Deploying Solar with Wildlife and Ecosystem Benefits (SolWEB) will fund projects that will facilitate ground-mounted solar-energy production compatible with wildlife, as well as projects that assess and optimize ecosystem benefits provided by solar energy, said the news release.

DOE anticipates two to three awards at $1.2 million for Wildlife-Solar Energy Interactions projects, and two to four awards at $500,000-$2 million for Ecosystem Services from Solar Facilities projects.

The funding will assist in achieving goals established by the Biden Administration, which include decarbonizing the electricity sector by 2035.

Find more information on this funding opportunity and details about how to submit a request here.