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Government

  • U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy - The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) invests in clean energy technologies that strengthen the economy, protect the environment, and reduce dependence on foreign oil.
  • U.S. Department of Energy - SunShot Initiative - The SunShot Initiative works to drive innovation in the deployment and integration of large-scale solar energy systems by supporting the efforts of private companies, academia, and national laboratories working to decrease the total costs of solar energy systems by 75% before the end of the decade.
  • U.S. Department of Energy - Solar Energy Technologies Program - The Solar Program conducts research and development on photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) energy technologies to reduce manufacturing costs, improve system performance, and find new ways to generate and store energy captured from the sun.  
  • U.S. Department of Energy - U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA provides a wide range of information and data products covering energy production, stocks, demand, imports, exports, and prices; and prepares analyses and special reports on energy topics of current interest.
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - The EPA conducts research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection, including through efforts to facilitate the use of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies. 
  • U.S. Department of the Treasury - 1603 Grant Program - The Department of the Treasury manages the application process and public data sharing for the 1603 Grant Program which converts the 30% Investment Tax Credit into a cash payment for qualifying energy property. 

Government Laboratories

  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory - NREL's centers for scientific and technological excellence support the research and development efforts of the U.S. Department of Energy, including significant photovoltaic and solar thermal research. 
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory - Jobs and Economic Development Impact Model (JEDI) - JEDI models are user-friendly screening tools that estimate the economic impacts of constructing and operating power plants, fuel production facilities, and other projects at the local (usually state) level.
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory - PVWatts Calculator - PVWatts allows users to easily determine the energy production and cost savings of hypothetical grid-connected photovoltaic energy systems throughout the world. 
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory - System Advisor Model (SAM) - SAM makes robust performance predictions and cost of energy estimates for grid-connected power projects based on financing, installation and operating costs, and system design parameters that you specify as inputs to the model.
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory - The Open PV Project - The Open PV Project uses voluntarily contributed data from utilities, installers, and the general public to establish a comprehensive database of photovoltaic (PV) installation data for the United States. 
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory - Renewable Energy Project Finance - NREL's Project Finance team conducts research and analysis on topics ranging from project-level finance, energy policy, renewable energy markets, and high renewable energy penetration scenarios.
  • Sandia National Laboratory - A Federally Funded Research and Development Center, Sandia operates laboratories in New Mexico and California that support a range of scientific activities for the U.S. government, including significant work in various solar energy technologies. 
  • Brookhaven National Laboratory - In operation for over 60 years on Long Island, New York, Brookhaven is a multi-program national laboratory performing critical research on the deployment, grid integration, and life-cycle assessment of renewable energy technologies for the U.S. Department of Energy
  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory - Originally established to support the Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge is a multi-program  science and technology laboratory in Tennessee performing focused research on critical photovoltaic manufacturing processes for the U.S. Department of Energy
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - The oldest of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Laboratories, Berkeley Lab in California conducts research across a wide range of scientific disciplines, including nanoscale photovoltaic and electro-chemical solar energy, as well as economic and policy analysis.
  • Argonne National Laboratory - One of the U.S. Department of Energy's largest national laboratories, Argonne, located outside of Chicago, researches a range of scientific and technical challenges, including solar technology improvements and integration of renewables into the electric power grid. 

Solar Market Research & Consulting

  • Bloomberg New Energy Finance - BNEF provides analysis, data and news on emerging energy markets – including renewable energy, carbon markets, energy smart technologies, carbon capture and storage, renewable energy certificate markets and nuclear. 
  • Greentech Media - Greentech Media (GTM) is devoted to covering emerging green and clean technologies, including industry-leading solar analysis and commentary.
  • Solarbuzz - Solarbuzz provides reporting and forecasting on the solar industry supply chain. 
  • iSuppli - iSuppli offers market research focused on the electronics value chain, including solar, providing insight on the competitive landscape, long-term market forecasts, manufacturing costs, and detailed spending analysis.
  • ENF Solar – ENF Solar provides detailed profiles on solar ingot, wafer, cell and panel manufacturers; tracking data such as production, equipment, materials and key contacts.  They also cover manufacturers’ cell and panel prices.
  • Renewable Energy World - REW provides renewable energy news as well as robust online community sharing industry events, jobs, and blogs. 
  • IMS Research - IMS Research provides market analysis across the photovoltaic supply chain ranging from polysilicon supply to PV modules, inverters and PV system integrators.
  • IHS Emerging Energy Research - IHS offers business intelligence, market analysis, strategic insight and design/engineering references for wind, solar, renewable and clean energy projects.
  • ClearSky Advisors - ClearSky Advisors’ renewable energy research covers market entry and launch strategies, policy and regulation, business strategy evaluation, strategic marketing, technology innovation, and industry best practices.
  • Photon Consulting - PHOTON Consulting is a research and consultancy firm focused on the global photovoltaic market within the solar power sector.
  • Power Engineering - PE provides detailed news on the power generation industry for many kinds of energy sources, such as, Solar, Natural Gas, and Nuclear to name a few. They also provide extensive lists of industry events, jobs, and hundreds of archived magazine issues

State Solar Programs & Policies

  • Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency - DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.
  • SolarPermit.org - SolarPermit.org hosts the National Solar Permitting Database, a free, online database of solar permitting requirements of cities and counties.
  • SolarRoadmap.com - The Solar Roadmap organizes national best practices and makes them easily accessible for government agencies, regional organizations, residents, businesses and electric utilities in an interactive platform.  
  • California Solar Initiative - The California Solar Initiative (CSI) is a solar rebate program for customers of California's investor-owned utilities.
  • New Jersey's Clean Energy Program: Solar - New Jersey's Clean Energy Program manages the state's Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) registration program and other affodability and interconnection programs.
  • Let's Go Solar - This comprehensive resource website contains state-by-state scorecards on what incentives, rebates and tax credits are available

Non-Profits and Advocacy

  • Solar Action Alliance - The Solar Action Alliance is a group of environmentalists who want to spread the word about the most clean, reliable, and abundant source of renewable energy: the sun.
  • Nifty Homestead - Nifty Homestead was founded to help aspiring and expert homesteaders learn and grow. We post resources on gardening, raising animals, natural building, sustainable energy, and tons of other topics related to homestead living.

International Solar Organizations

  • International Energy Agency - IEA is an autonomous organization which works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 28 member countries and beyond.
  • European Photovoltaic Industry Association - EPIA represents members active along the whole solar PV value chain: from silicon, cells and module production to systems development and PV electricity generation as well as marketing and sales. 

Solar Installation Codes, Standards & Certification

  • North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners - NABCEP  is the industry leader for PV and solar heating installation certification, offering certification and certificate programs to renewable energy professionals throughout North America.
  • Solar America Board for Codes and Standards - Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Solar ABCs is a collaborative effort among experts to formally gather and prioritize input from the broad spectrum of solar photovoltaic stakeholders including policy makers, manufacturers, installers, and consumers resulting in coordinated recommendations to codes and standards making bodies for existing and new solar technologies.