The Department of Energy recently announced $46.2 million for 48 projects as part of its SunShot Initiative. The projects fall under two SunShot initiatives—the Photovoltaics Research and Development 2: Modules and Systems (PVRD2), which supports advances in solar photovoltaic technology; and Technology to Market 3 (T2M3), which is designed to support early-stage solar technology research.

On Wednesday night, the Department of Energy released its highly anticipated and debated grid study. Back in April 2017, Energy Secretary Rick Perry issued a memorandum requesting a study to examine electricity markets and grid reliability. Beyond an evaluation of the current status of the electricity system, the April 14 memo asked staff to “provide concrete policy recommendations and solutions.” To that end, DOE staff prepared a list of eight policy recommendations. Let’s break them down:

To further research on energy storage and batteries, scientists at Berkeley Lab tested a theory from a German language academic journal dated 1928. The result? A new, higher-performing, environmentally cleaner, and affordable storage battery may soon be on the market.

Although the electric car was introduced over 100 years ago, only a fraction of cars sold to U.S. customers today are considered electric vehicles (EVs). Due to the environmental benefits of EVs, there has historically been some efforts to incentivize EV development. Now, Massachusetts's proportion of EVs may begin to climb due to a proposal set forth by Mass. Attorney General Maura Healey.

Last Friday, the Department of Energy directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee to open a rulemaking proceeding to provide “full recovery of costs” for power plants that keep 90 days of fuel supplied onsite. DOE officials wrote that the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) would enhance the resilience of the nation’s electric system and “protect the American people from energy outages expected to result from the loss of this fuel-secure generation."