The American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize is a $10 million prize competition 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 grow a robust ecosystem of community solar project developers that incorporate meaningful benefits into projects across the United States.

WHO: 

U.S. community solar developers, including new developers, co-developers (organizations who are partnering with a project developer), or developers who are expanding their community solar operations.  The prize encourages organizations who are new to community solar development to apply to this prize, including (but are not limited to): 

• Multifamily affordable housing providers 
• Community and economic development organizations 
• Intermediary organizations such as community development financial institutions 
• Community-based organizations that have real estate portfolios and/or are in construction 
• General contractors with roofing and/or electrical experience 
• Traditional solar project developers who are looking to expand into the community solar space 
• Socially and economically disadvantaged individual (SEDI) demographics-related business and women and minority-owned businesses. 
• Other large real estate holders that could be available for solar deployment

WHAT:

This three-phase prize aims to increase the number of equitable community solar projects by providing funding and resources for developers and co-developers throughout the project pre-development process, including:

• Tools and resources to connect developers with private sector project financing for community solar projects using a standardized process.
• Training to understand the full cycle of community solar development, including site acquisition, community relations, customer acquisition, securing financing, costs, and the unique challenges and benefits of a community solar model.
• Free consulting services to competitors on the steps necessary to get a community solar project financed.
• Coaching on expanding developers’ solar customer markets to include low- and moderate-income populations, disadvantaged communities, and local workforce development, as well as increase resilience to power outages and household savings to make community solar projects attractive to the widest range of customers possible.

WHEN:

Submission Deadline: March 15, 2023, 2 p.m. PDT

Phase 1 Informational Webinar: Feb. 1, 2023, 9 a.m. PST
https://nrel.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_7csIBXFJRSmMSssnnuCO-A

MORE INFO:

https://www.herox.com/CommunityPowerAccelerator