SETO Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs)

SETO Funding Opportunity Announcements are the Solar Energy Technologies Office's main competitive grant channel for US solar R&D. The office now sits inside CMEI and organizes work around photovoltaics, concentrating solar-thermal power, systems integration, soft costs, manufacturing and competitiveness, and workforce development. The FOAs are cooperative agreements, typically asking for 20 percent match and targeting US-based for-profit firms, nonprofits, universities, and research organizations. Awards in the broader FOA stream range from about $1 million to $15 million, and the research span reaches TRL 3 through 9. Individual applicants are excluded, and most solicitations focus on one or two topic areas at a time. In 2026 the broad SETO solicitation stream looks stalled, with the most recent general announcement carrying an April 15, 2026 target date. Applicants who fit the technical scope should watch Grants.gov for a new cycle, because the office has historically used multiple FOAs per year to move solar R&D, manufacturing, and workforce work forward.

No upcoming rounds verified. Cadence: Multiple per year.