Market Transformation

Solar America Cities is an activity of the Solar America Initiative. Twenty-five cities across the U.S. are partnering with DOE to support the goals of SAI. These cities are committed to accelerating the adoption of solar energy technologies at the local level.

The Solar America Initiative's market transformation activities strive to reduce market barriers for solar energy technologies by focusing on non-research areas such as:

Creating or updating codes and standards
State and local policy outreach
Product certification
Education and training
Streamlining utility interconnection agreements for solar energy systems.

Focusing on market transformation activities ensures that the nation benefits from the energy security and environmental advantages of the accelerated commercialization of solar technologies in the marketplace. This section contains information on progress in market transformation activities.

Market Transformation Approach

The Solar America Initiative's market transformation approach involves identifying market barriers to solar technology commercialization and working with external partners to address and overcome these non-technical hurdles. The Solar America Initiative's market transformation activities are divided into the following three categories:

Deployment—Funding and technical support for installing novel solar technologies that lead to mainstream adoption.

Technical Outreach—Education and awareness to key solar stakeholders so they are positioned to make informed solar decisions.

Issues and Public Policy—Identification of best practices for issues such as insurance and finance options, product certification, support development of codes and standards that facilitate the installation of solar technologies, and net-metering and interconnection standards.

Visit the research and development activities section to learn how the Solar America Initiative addresses technical barriers and the research and development advancement of solar energy technologies.