US DOE offers $100 million to align solar, wildlife, agriculture

Share

From pv magazine USA

The US DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office announced the Solar with Wildlife and Ecosystem Benefits 2 (SolWEB2) notice of funding opportunity, which will award up to $11 million to improve the compatibility of large-scale solar (LSS) facilities with wildlife and agriculture.

The funding intends to support research and development, technical assistance, and stakeholder engagement activities.

According to the DOE, more than 5,000 LSS facilities have opened in the United States in the last 10 years, and the growth is expected to continue in the next decade.

Such figures might suggest that solar has strong support but developers cite public opposition as a major challenge. The growth can impinge on wildlife habitats and agricultural areas, and can create land use issues and public opposition. The opposition comes in many forms, from neighbors who live near proposed large scale installations, to organized groups and municipal boards who pass legislation banning utility scale projects.

To continue reading, please visit our pv magazine USA website.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

Popular content

Bifacial perovskite solar can achieve bifaciality of 90% when tilted at 20 degrees
23 December 2024 New research from India has shown that bifacial perovskite solar cells can achieve a 2% higher power conversion efficiency with a tilt angle of 20 deg...