Deadline: 4-Nov-22
Nominations are now open for the American-Made SolarAPP+ Prize
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) will award prizes of $15,000 to local governments that successfully adopt or pilot SolarAPP+ in about five months.
The prize funding will help local governments lower the cost of the adoption process. The SolarAPP+ Prize is a $1 million program designed to accelerate the adoption of Solar Automated Permit Processing Plus (SolarAPP+).
SolarAPP+ is an automated permitting software tool that provides instant permit approval on code-compliant residential rooftop solar systems. SolarAPP+ has been adopted by dozens of Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs). For local governments that have adopted SolarAPP+, projects are permitted and inspected about two weeks faster than average, saving time for employees.
Funding Information
- The SolarAPP+ Prize will award $1,000,000 in cash prizes. The SolarAPP+ Prize is designed to incentivize AHJs to adopt SolarAPP+ for residential rooftop solar permitting for eligible systems. The following rules are for potential and actual competitors in the SolarAPP+ Prize.
- The SolarAPP+ Prize will select AHJ competitors to win a cash prize of $15,000 each for the successful adoption of SolarAPP+. AHJs selected to compete in Step 2 will be provided technical assistance to support their adoption of SolarAPP+.
Eligibility Criteria
- This prize is open to all governmental entities or AHJs that have authority over residential rooftop solar photovoltaic permitting. Examples include counties, cities, and any incorporated towns or villages in the United States.
- The SolarAPP+ Prize submission can be provided by any division of an AHJ, such as:
- Building, planning, or zoning department.
- Office of Community Development.
- Office of Economic Development.
- Inspections.
- Permitting.
- Plan Check.
- Sustainability.
- Other.
- All AHJs in the United States that intend to adopt SolarAPP+ during the prize are eligible to compete, subject to the following requirements:
- The AHJ must be located within the United States.
- Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) are not allowed to compete.
- Federal employees are not eligible to win any prizes in this program.
- Employees of an organization that cosponsors this program with NREL are not eligible to participate in this competition.
- Individuals who worked at NREL within the six months prior to the submission deadline are not eligible to participate in this program. Additionally, members of their immediate families (i.e., spouses, children, siblings, or parents) and anyone who lives in their household, regardless of relation, are not eligible to participate.
- NREL employees directly involved in administration of the SolarAPP+ Prize are not eligible to participate in this program.
- Entities and individuals publicly banned from doing business with the U.S. government, such as entities and individuals debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participating in federal programs, are not eligible to compete.
- Entities identified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Binding Operational Directives (BODs) as an entity publicly banned from doing business with the United States government are not eligible to compete.
- Entities and individuals identified as a restricted party on one or more screening lists of the Departments of Commerce, State, and the Treasury are not eligible to compete.
- This SolarAPP+ Prize is expected to positively impact U.S. economic competitiveness. Participation in a foreign government talent recruitment program5 could conflict with this objective by resulting in the unauthorized transfer of scientific and technical information to foreign government entities. Therefore, individuals participating in foreign government talent recruitment programs of foreign countries of risk are not eligible to compete. Further, teams that include individuals participating in foreign government talent recruitment programs of foreign countries of risk6 are not eligible to compete.
- As part of the submission to this SolarAPP+ Prize program, the AHJ will be required to sign the following statement:
- I am providing this submission package as part of my participation in this prize. I understand that in providing this submission to NREL, I certify under penalty of perjury that the named competitor meets the eligibility requirements for the Prize and complies with all other rules contained in the Official Rules document. I further represent that the information contained in the submission is true and contains no misrepresentations. I understand that false statements or misrepresentations to the Federal Government may result in civil and/or criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 and § 287.
- To compete in the SolarAPP+ Prize, the AHJ must comply with the eligibility requirements above. By uploading a submission, a competitor certifies that they are in compliance with these eligibility requirements. Eligibility is subject to verification before prizes are awarded. As soon as the SolarAPP+ Prize administrator becomes aware that a competitor is not eligible to win the SolarAPP+ Prize, the competitor may be disqualified. The registered competitor is the AHJ that registers in HeroX to compete.
For more information, visit https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/american-made-solarapp-prize