Toledo Solar, a leading American manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, has been awarded $8.8 million in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO).
The DOE’s award to Toledo Solar reflects their commitment to drive innovation to meet the evolving demand from domestically manufactured and renewable sources.
As part of its $8.8 million cooperative award from SETO, TSI and its partners will contribute a cost share of $9 million, bringing the total funding for the project to $17.8 million. This award represents the largest investment of its kind to a solar panel manufacturer as part of the SETO Fiscal Year 2022 Solar Manufacturing Incubator.
Today, domestically manufactured and cornerstone PV technologies like Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) and Silicon (Si) semi-conductors are utilized only in the PV panel markets at both Utility Scale and Residential/Commercial arenas.
Markets like windows for residential, architectural, and automobiles largely do not incorporate power generation technologies into their glass presently. The development of semi-transparent solar glass will allow markets that utilize traditional glass to incorporate an energy generation solution.
“This award helps Toledo Solar continue to bring domestic solar technology to the evolving landscape of new energy markets, while creating many new next generation clean energy manufacturing jobs,” said CEO Aaron Bates.
According to the most recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. renewable electricity generation grew from 382 million megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2008 to 913 million MWH’s in 2022. Solar generation has increased 73 times over that same period, from 2 million MWh to 146 million MWh.