The Biden administration wants to strengthen the United States solar energy industry as part of economic stimulus and clean energy initiatives. Toward that end, the Department of Energy has created initiatives to provide funding for solar energy companies trying to expand. One such initiative is the Upskill Prize, which awards domestic companies that are making positive strides, especially in regard to worker training and employment, in the solar energy industry.
Currently, the Department of Energy is collecting applications for the second round of this Upskill Award. Two firms can win up to $500,000 each and will be awarded based on their training programs. The goal is to attract new workers to the solar energy industry and train them with the skills needed to be highly productive in what companies need. These workers can be brand new to the industry or existing workers who need to develop new skills.
Upskill Award Now In Its Second Round
The Upskill Prize was announced in March 2024, with the initial round winners unveiled on July 16. There will be additional rounds until the funding pool of $5 million is exhausted, and the second round applications are due by companies on November 20. The Upskill Prize is part of a larger $13.5 million Department of Energy initiative to advance equity through workplace partnerships.
Of the round one winners of the Upskill Prize, one award went to First Solar of South Louisiana, the nation’s largest solar panel manufacturer, which invested $1.1 billion in the state. Its new solar panel manufacturing plant is expected to be operational by 2026, and it is collaborating with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) to train high-tech workers in the industry. The second award goes to Crossroads Solar Enterprises in Indiana, which partnered with Purdue University. Purdue’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership helps manufacturers in the region train workers to be more innovative and productive.
Government Wants to Reduce Need for Solar Imports
Efforts to bolster American solar energy are important due to the field’s heavy reliance on foreign imports, especially from China and Southeast Asia. Industry-university partnerships to train workers in solar manufacturing will help increase domestic production of solar panels and related equipment, reducing the need for imported panels. A larger workforce prepared for clean energy manufacturing will also pay national security dividends by making the United States more energy-independent. Domestic energy production is not a zero-sum game, meaning that investing in clean energy production adds to the energy produced by traditional sources like fossil fuels (coal and petroleum).
Hopefully, future rounds of the Upskill Prize will help create a critical mass of solar energy workers who can free our country from dependence on foreign solar producers and move us one step closer to energy independence. Toward that end, both Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden support increasing tariffs on solar imports, creating a rare area of bipartisan support. Both Democrats and Republicans want to ensure that the domestic solar energy industry has the ability to grow and develop without being stifled by low-cost Chinese imports.
