Community Power Accelerator Prize – Round 2

Community Power Accelerator Prize – Round 2 is sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy. A prize competition designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and co-developers to support multiple successful community solar projects.

Community Power Accelerator Prize – Round 2 | Department of Energy Community Power Accelerator Prize – Round 2 Round 2 of the American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize launched in July 2023.

The $10 million prize from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is 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 expand a robust ecosystem of community solar developers that incorporate meaningful benefits into projects across the United States.

The Community Power Accelerator Prize aims to help achieve the National Community Solar Partnership’s (NCSP’s) goal to enable enough community solar to power the equivalent of 5 million households and create $1 billion in household savings by 2025, by addressing the lack of expertise, capacity, and pre-development funds for community solar developers, and accelerating a pipeline of projects with meaningful benefits.

Round 2 launched on July 14, 2023. Informational webinars for potential applicants were held on August 8 and September 19, 2023. Phase 1 opened on July 14, with applications due October 4, 2023.

Phase 1 winners were announced on January 10, 2024. Phase 2 opened on January 11, 2024. Phase 2 winners were announced on August 15, 2024.

Brightening Every Community with Solar Powerhouse Energy 360, Georgia Central Valley Clean Energy Community Benefits Through Community Solar Reactivate DevCo, LLC, Illinois Community Solar EmPOWERing our City and People Minneapolis Climate Action, Minnesota Energy Conservation Works, Wyoming Empowering Communities: Solar Equity for All Aardex Corporation, Colorado and Arkansas Energy Sovereignty on Molokai Hoʻāhu Energy Cooperative Molokai, Hawaii Enterprise Community Solar Enterprise Community Development, Maryland Equitable CommUnity Solar Alliance Clean Slate Solar and Housing Initiative, Maryland Equitable Community Solar for Tribal Nations ICAST, Virginia and New York Equitable Community Solar—The Cooperative Model Cooperative Energy Futures, Minnesota Expand Access to Low-Income New Mexicans Prosperity Works, New Mexico Feather Light Energy Project Tribuquent, Minnesota and Oklahoma High Plains Community Microgrids Premier Energy, Nebraska and Colorado Hunts Point Community Solar Mississippi Community Solar for Rural Areas Mississippi Energy Developers, Mississippi Green Door Initiative, Michigan Piedmont Housing Alliance, Virginia RAMP Solar: Creating Energy, Food and Jobs in Los Angeles RAMP Solar, LLC.

, California Scaling Community Solar for LMI in New Hampshire Monadnock Energy, New Hampshire OneEnergy Renewables, Maryland and Ohio Solar for Social Good – Hudson Valley Ecological Citizen’s Project, New York Solar Savings for LMI Customers in Westchester Rivertown Solar, New York SolaRay Farms, Inc., Oregon Solarize Low-Income Multifamily Latino Communities Citizen Energy (Avanza Sun), Maryland Clean Slate Solar and Housing Initiative Partnership Equitable Community Solar Alliance, Prince George’s County, MD Community Benefits Through Community Solar Reactivate DevCo, LLC, Illinois Empowering Communities: Solar Equity for All Aardex Corporation, Colorado and Arkansas Scaling Community Solar for LMI in New Hampshire Monadnock Energy, New Hampshire SolaRay Farms, Inc., Oregon Solar for Social Good – Hudson Valley Ecological Citizen’s Project, New York Solarize Low-Income Multifamily Latino Communities Citizen Energy, LLC, District of Columbia Enterprise Community Solar Enterprise Community Development, Maryland Mississippi Community Solar for Rural Areas Mississippi Energy Developers, Mississippi OneEnergy Renewables, Washington Brightening Every Community with Solar Powerhouse Energy 360, Georgia Expand Access to Low-Income New Mexicans Prosperity Works, New Mexico Feather Light Energy Project The American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize is a part of the American-Made Challenges and is administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory .