The Solar Prize Round 7 finalists have been selected! From a pool of 20 semifinalists, the U.S. Department of Energy has identified 10 finalist teams who will each receive $100,000 in cash prizes, plus $75,000 in technical support vouchers, and a spot in the third and final contest—the Go! Contest—to bring their solar deployment concepts closer to commercialization. 

Among these finalists, three teams also split $50,000 for their solutions that make solar energy technologies more accessible to underserved communities, as part of the optional Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Contest.

The 10 finalist teams moving on to the Go! Contest in Solar Prize Round 7 are: 

  1. 1Climate (New York City, NY): This team is developing a solar regulatory platform for faster permitting by automating regulatory, permitting, contracting, and incentive filing processes. This will streamline the solar project development process, increase the ease of securing project financing, and monetize tax credits more reliably and efficiently.  
  2. Electra (Bellingham, WA): This team is developing a smart digital network for solar panel recycling to reroute retired solar panels from landfills to reuse locations or recycling facilities. This platform will optimize the collection, logistics, and matchmaking of solar panel recycling, leading to less waste and increased second-life opportunities. 
  3. 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. JEDI Contest Winner
  4. 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. JEDI Contest Winner
  5. Gridwave (Austin, TX): This team is developing a pre-assembled, modular solar carport for the commercial market to decrease costs and safety risks associated with current carports and expand solar electric vehicle (EV) charging. They will reduce costs compared to common solar carports by using offsite construction, a wind-load reducing design, and automated 3D concrete printing and precasting. 
  6. 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. 
  7. 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. JEDI Contest Winner
  8. NC Solar Inverters (Cary, NC): This team is developing a novel inverter design that leverages the high performance of silicon carbide technology but uses 40% less material, slashing inverter costs. This innovation will enable cost-effective, high-performance inverter technology to be manufactured in the United States. 
  9. Pavilion Solar (Miami, FL): This team is developing a hurricane-resistant, structurally stable, accessible, and cost-effective solar carport. This innovation will increase residential solar adoption in hurricane-prone areas by providing a product that can endure storms and growing electricity needs. 
  10. Solar Unsoiled (Durham, NC): This team is developing a software for large scale solar farms that provides optimized solar panel cleaning schedules based on a model that predicts daily soiling. This solution will increase system energy yield and reduce panel maintenance costs. 

Congratulations to the finalist teams! The prize administrators look forward to seeing how your technologies advance in the Go! Contest. 

Future Opportunities

If you submitted an idea and were not chosen as a finalist, we encourage you to keep innovating and looking for opportunities to improve your idea. In the coming weeks, you will receive an email from the prize administrators with comments and feedback on your submission from the reviewers.

Thank you to everyone who competed in the Solar Prize Round 7. We hope you will continue to utilize the American-Made Network to improve your ideas and watch for other opportunities to make them a reality by signing up for our American-Made Newsletter or following us on LinkedIn and X.

Congratulations, again, to the Round 7 finalists!