Solar America Initiative (SAI) University Photovoltaic Process and Product Development Support

The summary for the Solar America Initiative (SAI) University Photovoltaic Process and Product Development Support grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Golden Field Office, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Solar America Initiative (SAI) University Photovoltaic Process and Product Development Support: A link to the full Funding Opportunity Announcement is found by scrolling to the bottom of this page. This is a restricted eligibility. In accordance with 10 CFR 600.6(b), eligibility for award is restricted to all domestic Universities and Colleges accredited by an accrediting agency or state approval agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a reliable authority as to the quality of postsecondary education within the meaning of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). The U.S. Department of Education's accreditation website can be found at: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. The searchable database can be found at: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.asp. Only those domestic colleges and universities listed in the database are eligible for this FOA. Other Federal agencies, Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) Contractors, and nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995 are not eligible to apply. The goal of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technology Program (SETP) is to coordinate and fund applied research and development activities with the goal of meeting technical milestones with an emphasis on the development, performance, cost, and durability of materials and components or on efficiency of processes. With this aim, applied research and development efforts are focused on proof of technology concepts, scale-up research and demonstrations, cost reductions in technologies and processes and deployment support. The long-term goals of the SETP are to produce energy at or below the cost of retail energy, conventionally produced. More information about the research funding strategy of SETP can be found in the Solar America Initiative Plan: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_america/pdfs/sai_draft_plan_feb5_07.pdf. The primary goals of the Solar America Initiative are to reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) to below 10¢/kWh while scaling up manufacturing capacity to supply 5 to 10 GW/year by 2015. These milestones will be achieved by partnerships between industry, universities, state governments, federal agencies, and other non-governmental agencies. In March, DOE announced 12 Technology Pathway Partnership (TPP) projects representing the first major awards made under the SAI. For an overview of these projects, please refer to the following URL: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_america/pdfs/sai_fact_sheet_project_pros pectus.pdf. Through this FOA, DOE is soliciting applications from U.S. universities for projects that offer direct, near-term improvements in PV products and development processes. Universities may choose to develop a project through a partnership with a U.S. industrial partner currently positioned to achieve the 2015 SAI goals. These applications must clearly state how the university work will assist the industry partner in reducing LCOE and/or increasing manufacturing capacity and clearly indicate how academia is uniquely suited to perform this work. Applicants to this FOA should focus on near-term system development and manufacturing technologies rather than higher risk, longer term prototype and proof of concept R D. Alternatively, U.S. universities may apply without an industry partnership but must explicitly state: 1) how their project enables cost reductions and/or production increases in the U.S. PV commercial sector; and 2) how the applicant intends to quickly move this process or product into commercial production. All project applications should have sufficient focus to clearly illustrate the connection between the application and the SAI objectives. Each university application under this FOA must fall into a single Topic identified below. Listed below are the Topics considered to be significant for solar technologies to achieve the LCOE and manufacturing goals of the SAI. The complete list of metrics for Topics 1 through 7 can be found in the National Solar Technology Roadmaps, available at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_america/planning.html. Applications involving a product or process which pertains to multiple individual topic areas (Topics 1 through 7) should apply under Topic 8. Applicants to Topic 8 must define which metrics are applicable to their product or process and address the validity and appropriateness of the metrics proposed. Applications within Topics 1 through 7 must also identify which of the relevant metrics are being targeted by their proposed project. Applications under all Topics must quantify the projected improvement of these metrics as a result of the proposed work and include a discussion of how this improvement translates into reduced LCOE and/or increased manufacturability. Universities with diverse PV-related expertise are encouraged to apply with multiple applications; however, each application must respond to only a single topic. Topic 1: CdTe: This Topic applies to Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) PV technologies. Topic 2: CIGS: This Topic applies to Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide (CIGS) PV technologies using all types of absorber-layer processing. Topic 3: Concentrator PV (CPV): This Topic applies to high-concentration (greater than 10x) PV systems, which may include incorporating high-efficiency III-V or silicon cells, trackers, and reflective or refractive optics. Topic 4: Dye-Sensitized: This Topic applies to sensitized nanostructured solar cells, including both hybrid and organic/inorganic and entirely inorganic structures. Topic 5: Film-Silicon: This Topic applies to all silicon-film technologies that rely on a supporting substrate such as glass, polymer, aluminum, stainless steel, or metallurgical-grade silicon. These devices may use amorphous, nanocrystalline, fine-grained polycrystalline, or epitaxial silicon layers that are 1 to 20 micrometer thick. Topic 6: Organic PV: This Topic applies to all forms of solar cells that use organic molecules, including polymers, dendrimers, small molecules, and dyes, as absorbers or transporters, either in fully organic devices or in devices that also contain inorganic nanostructures. Topic 7: Wafer- Silicon: This Topic applies to all bulk-silicon-based PV technologies, including those based on Czochralski, multicrystalline, float-zone wafers, and melt-grown crystals that are 100 micrometer or thicker, such as ribbons, sheet, or spheral silicon. Silicon feedstock issues and low-optical-concentration approaches may also be addressed under this Topic. Topic 8: Multi-Disciplinary/Cross-cutting Devices or Processes Addressing Multiple PV Technologies: This Topic applies to all other PV related technologies, not limited to a single topic area listed above (Topics 1 through 7). These may include technology applicable to multiple absorber materials (e.g. CIGS and Organic PV) or technology that can be employed across multiple types of PV devices (e.g. anti-reflection materials). Applications for this Funding Opportunity Announcement must be accessed, completed, and submitted through Grants.gov at http://www.grants.gov to be considered for award. Questions regarding the content of the announcement should be submitted through the Submit Question feature of the DOE Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) at http://e-center.doe.gov. VERY IMPORTANT: To complete and submit applications through Grants.gov, there are several actions you must complete (e.g., obtain a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, register with the Central Contract Registry (CCR), install the PureEdge Viewer, register with the credential provider, and register with Grants.gov). Applicants are highly encouraged to register as soon as possible and should allow at least 21 days to complete the registration process. When done, call the Grants.gov Helpdesk at 1-800-518-4726 to verify successful registration. Registration Instructions are found on the Grants.gov web site at http://www.grants.gov and in the Funding Opportunity Announcement. Should you have questions regarding the operation of Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov Contact Center at [email protected] or 1-800-518-4726. Contact Center hours of operation are Monday - Friday from 7:00am to 9:00pm Eastern Standard Time.