The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) today announced the 18 winners of the American-Made Solar Photo Competition: Hit Me with Your Sun Shot. Professional and amateur photographers submitted awe-inspiring photos showcasing solar energy technologies, research and development activities, and infrastructure. 

DOE received more than 450 submissions from 113 competitors. Judges from SETO and other DOE offices evaluated submissions based on their emotional appeal and impact, composition and content, technical quality, and originality. Based on judging scores, SETO selected two grand prize winners, earning $2,500 each, in addition to one winner ($1,000 each) and one runner-up ($500 each) for each of the eight photo categories. 

The winners are featured in a DOE Flickr album, and other eligible submissions will be posted soon. These photos are available to the public. If you intend to use the photos, please give credit to the photographer in your caption.

Grand Prize Winners

Jeff West, submitted by Sarah Glover; A few years into the establishment of native prairie vegetation amongst the solar panels, these projects are already full of life.

Brianna Bruce; A jackrabbit stands at attention just outside the cover of a solar array near Hayward, California.

Solar and Weather Category Winner

Winner:  Dylan Sontag; Demonstrating snow shedding by adjusting trackers to a steeper angle, enabling faster site production recovery in Colorado.

Runner-up: David Penalva; Life in the Desert 

Solar Workforce and Installation Category Winner 

Winner: Saman Kouretchian; Recent solar installation in Palm Desert, CA.

Runner-up: Craig Fritz; Teamwork 

Concentrating Solar-thermal Power Category Winner 

Winner: Craig Fritz; The National Solar Thermal Test Facility arranged their heliostat field for the groundbreaking of the Gen 3 Particle Pilot Plant, with the original solar tower reflected in one of the facets at Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque, NM.

Runner-up: Osdilieva Hinojosa; Supply Chain 

Research Processes, Solar Technologies in Detail, and Manufacturing Category Winner 

Winner: Craig Fritz; Dr. Angelique Montgomery places a perovskite module in a solar simulator of LED lights to simulate the sun with a flash of light at Sandia National Laboratories Photovoltaic System Evaluation Laboratory (PSEL) in Albuquerque, NM.

Runner-up:  John Freidah; High Throughput

Utility Scale, Commercial Solar, and Grid Integration Category Winner

Winner: Michael Slider; Located in Riverside, CA and using American-made equipment, Intersect Power’s Oberon Facility generates 500 MWac, powers more than 200,000 homes, and includes 250 MW of storage.  

Runner-up: Yung Chen; Solar Farm Nestled in East Bay Hills at Sunset

Community Solar and Multifamily Housing Category Winner

Winner: Rachel Gentile; A series of solar arrays on an affordable multifamily housing development in Allston, MA.

Runner-up: Rachel Gentile; Discovery Museum Solar and School Buses

Residential Solar Category Winner

Winner: Quincy Biddle; PV panels on the rooftops of Massachusetts homes against a backdrop of dark cumulus clouds looming before a thunderstorm.

Runner-up: Jacob Gross; Lux Array 

Agriculture and Solar, Solar in Nature, Solar and Wildlife Category Winner

Winner: Chad Alkire; Bee pollinating native pollinators used for vegetation management at E.W. Solar Farm in Kentucky.

Runner-up: Nick de Vries; SRC Solar Savanna

View all of the submissions to this year’s competition and submissions to the 2017 competition. 

Learn more about the Solar Energy Technologies Office.