More than 30 percent of new federal funding available will go to training a workforce suitable for solar energy developments, the U.S. Energy Department said.

The federal government announced $32 million is available for combined training and cost-saving efforts for the U.S. solar energy sector. Up to $12 million of that will target worker training initiatives to support a solar energy workforce.

Deputy Energy Secretary Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall said an average of 500 new solar energy projects were installed per day last year.

"To ensure the continued growth of the U.S. solar industry and our clean energy economy, it is critical that we support workforce training programs that will give American workers the skills they need," she said in a statement.

For military veterans in particular, the federal government set a goal of training 75,000 workers by 2020.

A weak market for crude oil is hurting parts of a U.S. economy once supported by the boom in production from shale. With crude oil prices about 40 percent below June 2014 highs, the Labor Department said the overall employment picture was the best it's been since the early stages of the global recession in 2008, but job losses continue to mount in the oil and gas sector.

The federal funding opportunity sets aside $15 million for the development of concentrating solar power collectors, one of the more expensive components of solar power. Another $5 million will fund increased market transparency.

The U.S. government is supporting solar development through its SunShot initiative, which aims to make the renewable technology competitive. The program aims to move solar power capacity from less than 1 percent of the national electricity supply to 14 percent by 2030.

A shadow was cast over federal solar programs with the 2011 bankruptcy of Solyndra, which received more than $500 million in federal loan guarantees.