Lab Calls
The office periodically issues competitive solicitations only for National Laboratories seeking multi-year funding on a particular topic or theme. Similar to the funding opportunity announcements open to the public, National Laboratories submit proposals that are then evaluated and selected by technical staff in the Energy Department to make sure projects align with the office’s research priorities.
Current Awards
| Funding Program | Year Announced | Amount Awarded |
| Solar Energy Technologies Office Lab Call FY2025-27 | 2024 | $217M |
| Solar Energy Technologies Office Fiscal Year 2023 Just-in-Time Lab Call | 2023 | $2.8M |
| Solar Energy Technologies Office FY2022-24 Lab Call | 2021 | $235M |
| Grid Modernization Lab Call FY19-21 | 2019 | $20M |
| Solar Energy Technologies Office FY2019-21 Lab Call | 2018 | $62M; FY2019 |
Past Awards
| Funding Program | Year Announced | Amount Awarded |
| Resilient Distribution Systems Lab Call | 2017 | $10M |
| Grid Modernization Initiative Lab Call | 2016 | $10M |
| SunShot National Laboratory Multiyear Partnership (SuNLaMP) | 2015 | $110M (FY16-FY18) |
| Lab Proposal Development Process • Photovoltaics Research • Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power Research • Systems Integration Research | 2012 | $227M (FY13-FY15) |
Programs and Initiatives
SETO funds programs, collaborative initiatives, and prize competitions at the National Labs, enabling the labs to bring together diverse partners and connect them with the resources of the National Labs. Selected for their expertise and for their ability to provide core support for research programs and testing facilities, National Labs bolster the Energy Department’s technical capabilities while also providing impartial foundational analysis. SETO’s funding enables the labs to provide expert information to a broad set of stakeholders, helping to explore the potential commercial relevance of solar technologies and address the non-hardware costs and deployment barriers of going solar.
Current Awards
| Funding Program | Year Announced | Amount Awarded |
| Technology Commercialization Fund | 2016-2023 | $15.5M |
| Generation 3 Concentrating Solar Power Systems (Gen3CSP) | 2018 | $10M |
| Multi-Lab Grid Modeling Support for Puerto Rico Phase 2 | 2018 | $5M |
| American-Made Challenges: Solar Prize | 2018 | $3M |
| Solar Energy Innovation Network | 2017 | $11M |
| Durable Module Materials (DuraMat) National Laboratory Consortium | 2016 | $30M |
| Small Business Voucher Pilot | 2016-2017 | $1M |
Past Awards
| Funding Program | Year Announced | Amount Awarded |
| Public Utility Commission Analytical Support | 2017 | $1.5M |
| Regional Test Center program | 2012 | $26M (FY12-FY18) |
| Solar Energy Research for India and the U.S. (SERIIUS) | 2012 | $6.25M |
Research Projects at the National Laboratories
SETO funding also enables the National Labs to conduct informative analysis on solar energy technologies and the solar industry, using bottom-up, techno-economic cost modeling to provide important industry benchmarks. National lab researchers and industry partners also work together to conduct feasibility tests that mimic the real-world performance of solar technologies in the field, helping to de-risk solar technologies.
National Lab Success Stories
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SunShot funding is enabling researchers from the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to develop a solution for customers, PV companies, and investors: international standards that consistently identify sources of high qual...
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Thanks to a SunShot collaboration at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in December 2015 Hawaiian Electric anno...
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EERE Success Story-NREL Partners with Google in Little Box Challenge
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As solar energy’s popularity continues to grow among homeowners, it’s changing the way people buy and sell homes.