Solar Prize Round 7

Congratulations to the two Solar Prize Round 7 grand prize winners, Fram Energy and Gritt Robotics! Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Solar Energy Technologies Office announced the two winning teams live at the RE+ Conference following the finalist teams’ pitches. The two winning teams took home a $500,000 cash prize and a $75,000 national lab voucher to continue advancing their work. 

During this final contest of the prize, teams worked on developing and testing their product or prototype, building their network, and making a long-term plan for the success of their concept. The two winning teams are building solutions that make solar more accessible, affordable, and efficient. Learn more about their winning solutions: 

• Fram Energy (Newburgh, NY): This team is developing a platform to incentivize landlords to install solar by enabling both the renter and landlord to capture savings from a solar installation. This software helps the landlord select the best solar system for their property and distributes the benefits of solar to both the tenant and property owner, expanding renters’ access to solar energy. 
• Gritt Robotics (Belmont, CA): This team is developing a solution combining robotics and artificial intelligence for automated construction of utility-scale solar. By converting off-the-shelf construction equipment into intelligent robots, this innovation will accelerate solar construction and improve worker health and safety. 

In addition to the grand prize winners, Solar Prize Round 7 reviewers selected EmpowerSun Solutions and Illumination Solar Training Labs as the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Contest winners for their solutions that enable underserved communities to overcome systemic barriers to solar deployment.

• EmpowerSun Solutions (Aurora, CO):  This team is developing a platform for underserved communities that provides customized solar planning resources and connects landowners with pre-certified project partners. This innovation will help underserved communities, farmers, and tribal entities to effectively leverage their land for the development of solar energy.
• Illumination Solar Training (Jefferson, WI): This team is developing portable, interactive solar training carts that provide affordable, hands-on solar training for communities and colleges. This solution offers relevant equipment, comprehensive concepts, and easy transport for real-world solar training to bridge the solar skills gap. 

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Solar Prize Round 7 and contributed their innovative ideas for energizing solar innovation! Don’t forget, Round 8 is open and accepting submissions now through Sept. 26. We highly encourage Solar Prize newcomers and alumni to apply! 

Want to watch the Solar Prize Round 7 finalists pitch their innovations live? Tune in to the event livestream and catch the entire Go! Demo Day event at RE+! Even if you’re not attending RE+, you can still watch all of the exciting presentations and learn more about finalists’ unique ideas for advancing solar adoption. 

The livestream begins at 7 p.m. ET tonight, Sept. 10. Watch to see competitors’ pitches, hear from U.S. Department of Energy leadership, then stay tuned for the live winner announcement. The event is expected to end by 9 p.m. ET. 

Good luck to all Round 7 finalists! 

Since May, Solar Prize finalists have been working on advancing their award-winning solar solutions in the hopes of winning $500,000 at Go! Demo Day next week. Today, we’re spotlighting finalists Electra and Illumination Solar Training.

Team Electra, a Round 7 finalist from Bellingham, Washington, is giving retired solar panels new life and saving them from landfills with their digital network for solar panel recycling. Electra’s platform establishes a panel registry and stewardship network to optimize the recycling process and reduce waste. 

The registry and network connect a system of recyclers, haulers, collectors, and other entities to route retired solar panels to reuse locations or recycling facilities instead of the landfill. By solving for collection and logistics challenges, Electra’s technology will help build a comprehensive, cost-efficient system for solar recycling in the U.S. Learn more about Team Electra’s Solar Prize submission.

Illumination Solar Training, a Round 7 finalist and Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Contest winner, is bridging the solar skills gap with their Solar Prize innovation. Their team is developing portable, interactive solar training labs that provide affordable, hands-on solar training for communities and colleges. 

The growing demand for solar requires a well-trained workforce, and Illumination Solar Training’s mobile labs enable training organizations to deliver in-depth, experiential solar training to students to build the next generation of solar workers. The labs include the relevant equipment and training concepts for both grid-tied and off-grid systems, and their portability makes it possible to bring this real-world learning directly to communities who wouldn’t otherwise have access to solar training and equipment. Learn more about Illumination Solar Training’s innovation.

Watch Illumination Solar Training's Set! submission video.

Stay tuned to find out if either of these teams become grand prize winners at Go! Demo Day in September!

Since May, Solar Prize finalists have been working on advancing their award-winning solar solutions in the hopes of winning $500,000 at Go! Demo Day next month. Today, we’re spotlighting finalists EmpowerSun Solutions and Pavilion Solar.

Through the Solar Prize, EmpowerSun Solutions is developing a platform to help farmers, tribal entities, and other disadvantaged landowners effectively leverage their land for solar development. In addition to being a Round 7 finalist, EmpowerSun Solutions was named a Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Contest winner for their focus on advancing solar in underserved communities. 

High costs and a complex project development process are key barriers for many landowners to pursue solar development. To address these issues, EmpowerSun Solutions created a user-friendly web application that provides customized solar planning resources and connects landowners with pre-certified partners who can provide comprehensive project support. Learn more about EmpowerSun Solutions’ innovation.

Have you ever wondered how to increase resident solar adoption in hurricane-prone areas? Round 7 finalist Pavilion Solar is tackling this problem through the Solar Prize by developing hurricane-ready solar carports. Their product, called EnPods, is designed for homes that are unable to install rooftop solar panels.

Currently in the U.S., half of all homes are ineligible for rooftop solar, and 32 million homes are at risk of hurricane damage. Many of these communities lack feasible, affordable solar alternatives, such as solar carports, that also comply with hurricane building codes. Pavilion Solar’s hurricane-rated, modular EnPods address this challenge by providing a structurally stable product that can endure storms while remaining accessible and cost-effective. Learn more about Pavilion Solar's solution.

Stay tuned to find out if either of these teams become grand prize winners at Go! Demo Day in September!

Since May, Solar Prize finalists have been working on advancing their award-winning solar solutions in the hopes of winning $500,000 at Go! Demo Day next month. Today, we’re spotlighting finalists Solar Unsoiled and NC Solar Inverters.

Solar Unsoiled, from Durham, North Carolina, was named a Round 7 finalist for their innovative software that optimizes solar farm cleaning schedules. The platform uses a model that predicts daily soiling levels to make sure solar farms are cleaned at the most opportune time, increasing system energy yield and reducing panel maintenance costs. 

Large-scale solar farms can realize a 20% profit gain when cleaning schedules are optimized to balance revenue losses and cleaning costs. Solar Unsoiled’s solution utilizes predictive modeling and machine learning to provide current and future soiling losses so that customers can be proactive about panel mitigation and prioritize, budget, and schedule cleanings months to years in advance. Learn more about Solar Unsoiled’s Solar Prize submission. 

NC Solar Inverters, a Round 7 finalist from Cary, North Carolina, is developing a novel inverter design that improves efficiency, reliability, and cost compared to state-of-the-art solutions. With their cost-efficient technology, NC Solar Inverters aims to expand U.S. manufacturing of solar power electronics. 

The team’s inverter design leverages the high performance of silicon carbide (SiC) technology while reducing electromagnetic noise and switching losses. Adding to these advantages, their solution also saves weight and volume, slashing inverter costs. These innovations will encourage domestic inverter manufacturers to expand their portfolio of products and make high-performance, SiC-based inverter technology in the U.S. Learn more about NC Solar Inverter’s Solar Prize submission.

Stay tuned to find out if either of these teams become grand prize winners at Go! Demo Day in September!