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January 2025
These Innovative Approaches Harness the Benefits of Rooftop Solar Energy for Homes and Small Businesses
The Solar Energy Innovation Network (SEIN) Round 3 brought together eight multistakeholder teams from various locations across the United States to develop new approaches to solar deployment, focusing on residential and commercial buildings in underserved communities.
First Cohort of Solar Energy Innovators Awarded in Solar Prize Round 8
Twenty new innovators are now on their way to advancing technologies that can support the solar industry's growth and adoption.
December 2024
Community Solar and Beyond
Community solar—a solar energy deployment model that allows customers to buy or lease part of a larger shared solar photovoltaic (PV) system—is a growing area of PV development.
November 2024
Lighting the Way for Agrivoltaics: How NREL Empowers Communities To Capture the Benefits of Solar Energy, Agriculture, and Ecosystems
NREL's research helps farmers, local communities, and global partners navigate the complexities of bringing solar onto the farm.
Utility-Scale Solar Fields Can Foster Abundant Biodiversity
Researchers take a deep look at the interactions between habitat, pollinators, and solar energy production on three large working solar farms in Minnesota.
October 2024
Dive Into a Lake of Data: Open Energy Data Initiative Increases Big Data Access for Everyone
When data is widely accessible and available to anyone, anywhere, it can transform communities—especially when that data concerns something as vital as energy.
Introducing the Solar District Cup Class of 2024–2025
Students from 38 schools are entering an ever-widening community of competitors and alumni involved in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition.
April 2024
Department of Energy Announces Solar District Cup Class of 2023–2024 Winners
On Monday, April 29, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the division winners and Project Pitch Champion in the Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition's Class of 2023-2024. In the five years of this competition, this was the largest ever class of competing teams.
February 2024
Leap Into New Capabilities: REopt Offers Enhanced Energy Solutions
The REopt team at NREL has significantly enhanced the publicly available REopt web tool and its underlying open-source code, providing more powerful capabilities.
January 2024
Announcing the Teams Racing to the Finish in the Solar District Cup
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition announced today that 60 teams from 53 schools are advancing as finalists in the Class of 2023–2024, including 17 teams from 17 schools that joined the competition for the one-semester division since December.
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Last Updated May 5, 2025