The most recent phase of the SunShot Incubator will carry on the tradition of transformative solar innovations created by previous participants. The projects will focus on two areas that will help scale up solar technology and reduce hardware-related “soft costs” of solar that can be more than half of the price of a solar power system (see the above chart for more information).
Since its inception at the end of 2007, over 50 American small-scale businesses have enrolled in SunShot Incubator. This program offers the early-stage assistance startups require to overcome technological hurdles to commercialization. So far, Incubator program participants have secured more than $1.7 billion in private-sector follow-on investment.
The list of Incubator alums who are changing America’s solar energy sector is Solar Mosaic. In the past year, the tiny startup was awarded the Incubator grant worth $2 million by the Energy Department to advance innovations in solar financing – developing an online platform for crowdfunding that allows everyday Americans to build and finance solar projects. After selling its first solar projects that are publicly available within less than 24 hours – the company is making news as the awe-inspiring “Kickstarter of Solar.”
On the other side of the spectrum, Incubator winner Qbotix uses a unique method to improve energy efficiency for solar-powered plants. Qbotix uses mobile robots that aim solar panels toward the sun and then adjust their positions all day to increase the amount of energy produced. The robotics-based tracking system removes the requirement to use hundreds or even thousands of stationary motors and large amounts of cement, steel, and other building materials cutting the operating costs of the solar energy plants to as high as 20.
Through its support for innovative but highly efficient solar innovation and development strategies, the SunShot Incubator program offers hints of the possibilities for this fast-growing business. Through partnerships like the SunShot Incubator, the Energy Department will continue to assist the brave enough to take advantage of solar energy’s potential.