Round 2 of the American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize: Accessing Capital to Deploy Equitable Community Solar launched in July 2023. The $10 million prize from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and co-developers to learn, participate, and grow their operations to support multiple successful community solar projects. The goal of this prize is to expand a robust ecosystem of community solar developers that incorporate meaningful benefits into projects across the United States.
The Community Power Accelerator Prize aims to help achieve the National Community Solar Partnership’s (NCSP’s) goal to enable enough community solar to power the equivalent of 5 million households and create $1 billion in household savings by 2025, by addressing the lack of expertise, capacity, and pre-development funds for community solar developers, and accelerating a pipeline of projects with meaningful benefits.
Timeline
- Round 2 launched on July 14, 2023.
- Informational webinars for potential applicants were held on August 8 and September 19, 2023.
- Phase 1 opened on July 14, with applications due October 4, 2023.
- Phase 1 winners were announced on January 10, 2024.
- Phase 2 opened on January 11, 2024.
- Phase 2 winners were announced on August 15, 2024.
Phase 1 Winners
Brightening Every Community with Solar
Powerhouse Energy 360, Georgia
Central Valley Clean Energy
Sien, Inc., California
Community Benefits Through Community Solar
Reactivate DevCo, LLC, Illinois
Community Solar EmPOWERing our City and People
Minneapolis Climate Action, Minnesota
Cowboy Community Solar
Energy Conservation Works, Wyoming
Empowering Communities: Solar Equity for All
Aardex Corporation, Colorado and Arkansas
Energy Sovereignty on Molokai
Hoʻāhu Energy Cooperative Molokai, Hawaii
Enterprise Community Solar
Enterprise Community Development, Maryland
Equitable CommUnity Solar Alliance
Clean Slate Solar and Housing Initiative, Maryland
Equitable Community Solar for Tribal Nations
ICAST, Virginia and New York
Equitable Community Solar—The Cooperative Model
Cooperative Energy Futures, Minnesota
Expand Access to Low-Income New Mexicans
Prosperity Works, New Mexico
Feather Light Energy Project
Tribuquent, Minnesota and Oklahoma
High Plains Community Microgrids
Premier Energy, Nebraska and Colorado
Hunts Point Community Solar
The Point, New York
Mississippi Community Solar for Rural Areas
Mississippi Energy Developers, Mississippi
Motor City to Solar City
Green Door Initiative, Michigan
Piedmont Solar
Piedmont Housing Alliance, Virginia
RAMP Solar: Creating Energy, Food and Jobs in Los Angeles
RAMP Solar, LLC., California
Scaling Community Solar for LMI in New Hampshire
Monadnock Energy, New Hampshire
Silver Buckshot
OneEnergy Renewables, Maryland and Ohio
Solar for Social Good – Hudson Valley
Ecological Citizen’s Project, New York
Solar Savings for LMI Customers in Westchester
Rivertown Solar, New York
SolaRay Farms
SolaRay Farms, Inc., Oregon
Solarize Low-Income Multifamily Latino Communities
Citizen Energy (Avanza Sun), Maryland
Phase 2 Winners
Clean Slate Solar and Housing Initiative Partnership
Equitable Community Solar Alliance, Prince George’s County, MD
Community Benefits Through Community Solar
Reactivate DevCo, LLC, Illinois
Empowering Communities: Solar Equity for All
Aardex Corporation, Colorado and Arkansas
Scaling Community Solar for LMI in New Hampshire
Monadnock Energy, New Hampshire
SolaRay Farms
SolaRay Farms, Inc., Oregon
Solar for Social Good – Hudson Valley
Ecological Citizen’s Project, New York
Solarize Low-Income Multifamily Latino Communities
Citizen Energy, LLC, District of Columbia
Enterprise Community Solar
Enterprise Community Development, Maryland
Mississippi Community Solar for Rural Areas
Mississippi Energy Developers, Mississippi
Silver Buckshot
OneEnergy Renewables, Washington
Brightening Every Community with Solar
Powerhouse Energy 360, Georgia
Expand Access to Low-Income New Mexicans
Prosperity Works, New Mexico
Feather Light Energy Project
Tribuquent, Florida
Additional Information
- Learn more about the Community Power Accelerator Prize.
- Download the rules for the competition.
- Learn about the Round 1 prize contestants.
The American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize is a part of the American-Made Challenges and is administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.