DOE Allocates Almost $12M for Solar-Grid Integration

The Energy Department will provide five solar energy grid integration system (SEGIS) projects with a total of $11.8 million, with $5 million to come from Recovery Act funds.

The SEGIS program is a partnership between DOE, Sandia National Laboratories, industry, utilities and universities. It emphasizes total system development and focuses on the most promising technological advances and development of intelligent system controls.

The awards represent DOE's continuing investment toward helping ensure the nation's electrical grid reliability is maintained and improved as solar energy technologies reach cost competitiveness and increased levels of integration with the grid.

The companies receiving the awards are:

• PVPowered, Bend, Ore. According to the DOE, the project reinforces  fundamental objectives of the SEGIS program to optimize interconnections across the full range of emerging PV module technologies through innovative systems integration.
• Petra Solar and Princeton Power, NJ. This project works toward the widespread adoption of solar energies. It supports improving reliability and resiliency so that high levels of PV integration can be adapted.
• Princeton Power of Princeton, NJ. Lowering manufacturing costs through integrated controls for energy storage and developing new inverter designs is the focus of this project.
• Apollo Solar, CT. The emphasis in this project is creating innovative inverters using energy storage and two-way communications between solar electrical systems and utilities.
• Florida Solar Energy Center. The objective of this project is to solve technical challenges that must be overcome to include higher PV penetration levels in larger electrical systems.