The Solar Energy Industry Association has added two divisions to focus on solar energy storage and solar manufacturing, with each industry sector having a reserved spot on the group's board of directors.

The new divisions are part of a broader governance plan as SEIA aims to make solar the leading source of new electricity generation in the next decade, the association said in a statement announcing the changes Wednesday. SEIA also launched a new committee on community solar and established a working group to explore reducing the soft costs for homeowners and businesses that want to switch to solar.

"These changes in our structure emphasize the massive overhaul the electricity system is undergoing," SEIA CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said. "Adding board seats for storage companies and manufacturers and creating policy committees to advance solar plus storage and community solar will help us build toward the Solar+ Decade and achieve our ambitious goals."

The energy storage and solar manufacturing divisions will focus on member education and information exchange. Representatives from each sector will have a seat on the board of directors, although SEIA didn't say whether it would hire additional employees to staff the divisions.

The newly created Energy Storage Committee and Community Solar Committee will focus on developing policies promoting storage and community solar, the latter a term for smaller solar facilities that serve multiple households and businesses. At the same time, the working group will coordinate industry efforts to improve the process of permitting, inspecting and interconnecting customer-sited solar power systems.

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