Governors' Wind Energy Coalition

Vice President Joe Biden is expected to announce plans to invest more than $120 million in solar power during a renewable energy conference in Anaheim, Calif., today.

According to the White House, Biden will tout the administration’s plans to funnel the cash into solar projects in states across the country when he speaks at the Solar Power International conference this afternoon.

The Anaheim stop marks the first of two energy-related speeches Biden will be making today. He’s also slated to speak this afternoon at the U.S.-China Climate Leaders Summit in Los Angeles (ClimateWire, Sept. 15).

“President Obama and Vice President Biden are committed to promoting smart, simple, low-cost technologies to help America transition to cleaner and more distributed energy sources, help households save on their energy bills, and to address climate change,” the White House said in a statement.

Among the investments the White House is touting is the Energy Department’s second-annual round of its $30 million “technology to market” funding, aimed at spurring technologies that cut costs of solar energy systems.

DOE is also releasing $20 million to support up to 35 projects that will advance photovoltaic cell performance, the White House said. And the department is announcing that millions of dollars will be awarded to advance solar power through DOE’s SunShot program.