The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $40 million in investments to strengthen the country's solar energy supply chain. 

Around $16 million of those funds be divided across four solar technology research and development projects, headed up by Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University, kWh Analytics in Sacramento, the University of North Carolina, and Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto. The projects will look into reducing the costs of solar energy, and finding ways to to make solar panels more durable and easier to repair. 

“The Biden-Harris Administration is investing in a clean energy future that’s built to last,” U.S. energy secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a September 12 news release. “The U.S. has doubled annual solar installations over the past four years, and today's announcement further supports manufacturers as they create more resilient solar energy technologies and maximize the life of their products.”

Another $20 million will be used for various other projects housed under a newly-formed solar technology incubator, where researchers will study processes and products that they believe will help ramp up domestic manufacturing. The remaining money will go toward prize funds to incentivize new innovations in solar hardware and software.