SolarApp+ Prize

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced 12 communities from across the country as winners of Step 1 of the American-Made Solar Automated Permit Processing Plus (SolarAPP+) Prize—a two-step competition to help communities adopt automated processing of residential solar permits, lowering costs and making solar more accessible for homeowners.

SolarAPP+ is a groundbreaking, time-saving tool that helps communities accelerate solar installation by instantly issuing permits for code-compliant residential rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems. The online platform was developed in collaboration with local governments, code-development organizations, and industry stakeholders to automate the solar permitting review process and free up community staff time.

Each of the communities selected during Step 1 of the SolarAPP+ Prize program has been determined to be eligible to adopt SolarAPP+. If they successfully adopt SolarAPP+ during Step 2 of the prize program, they will receive $15,000. Although SolarAPP+ is free for any community to use, the prize is designed to reward those communities that can adopt SolarAPP+ quickly.

To date, SolarAPP+ has approved nearly 13,000 permits across 31 jurisdictions. Communities that have adopted SolarAPP+ have saved more than 12,800 hours in plan review time, and projects are installed about two weeks faster, given that permits are issued instantly for code-compliant systems.

Learn about the 12 communities selected to adopt SolarAPP+.

Today is the deadline to submit your Step 1 application to the SolarApp+ prize. Make sure your full submission is uploaded no later than 3 p.m. ET today!

As a reminder, here’s what you need to submit: 

• Questionnaire 
• Letter of Commitment or Support 

The Step 1 submission form can be found on HeroX SolarApp+ Prize Homepage by clicking the “Solve This Challenge” button.

You must submit a Step 1 application to be eligible to move to Step 2, where selected teams will adopt the SolarApp+ tool and be eligible to win $15,000. For additional information, please see the official rules. 

Don’t forget to submit your SolarApp+ Prize Step 1 Submissions by 3 p.m. ET on Friday, November 4!

With only a few days left until the SolarApp+ Step 1 submission deadline, now is the time to finalize your submission elements and get your application uploaded to HeroX. As a reminder, here’s what you need to submit: 

• Questionnaire 
• Letter of Commitment or Support 

The Step 1 submission form can be found on HeroX SolarApp+ Prize Homepage by clicking the “Solve This Challenge” button.

You must submit a Step 1 application to be eligible to move to Step 2, where selected teams will adopt the SolarApp+ tool and be eligible to win $15,000. For additional information, please see the official rules. 

Hi SolarApp+ Prize Community,

Thank you for joining us for the September 27 SolarApp+ Prize informational webinar! The webinar recording and slides are now available. If you couldn’t attend the webinar or would like a refresher, watch the recording for an overview of the SolarApp+ tool and prize submission requirements and scoring criteria. 

If you would like to join a live webinar, we will be holding another SolarApp+ Prize Informational Webinar hosted by ICC on October 11 at 1pm ET – Register today!

Have questions? Share them in the public forum to gather feedback from the community and prize administrator. Or reach out to

-The SolarApp+ Prize team 

 PS – don’t forget that the Step 1 submission deadline is November 4^th at 3pm ET!

Hey Innovators,

Join us tomorrow for this informational webinar covering everything you need to know about applying for the SolarAPP+ Prize. We’ll provide an overview of submission requirements, how to apply, and scoring criteria. Participants will also have an opportunity to ask questions.

The SolarAPP+ Prize was created to accelerate the adoption of SolarAPP+, an online platform that instantly issues permits for code-compliant residential photovoltaic systems. Authorities having jurisdiction are encouraged to apply for this prize, which offers funding to help offset the costs of adoption.