Department of Energy announces first-round winners of $3M Solar Prize, new solar initiatives

In an announcement made last week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) named Phase3 Photovoltaics and Solar Inventions winners of the first round in the American-Made Solar Prize competition.

Designed to spur U.S. solar manufacturing, the competition yields a $3 million prize. The two first-round winners each received $500,000 in cash, usable at DOE National Laboratories. Phase3 won for its development of a process for solar to be integrated into factory-built homes. Solar Inventions won the prize for a new approach to developing a photovoltaic cell design that could lead to a more stable model.

A panel of industry experts chose the winners at Solar Power International, the solar industry’s largest conference.

“The American-Made Solar Prize brings together private sector entrepreneurship with expertise at DOE’s national labs to foster next-level innovation in U.S. solar manufacturing,” Daniel Simmons, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), said. “These transformative technologies will address critical needs in the U.S. solar industry, and develop impactful solutions for industry to utilize and overcome these challenges.”

Beyond the competition, the DOE also announced two new initiatives to be led by EERE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office. These consist of the National Community Solar Partnership and the Solar District Cup. The former is meant to provide technical assistance, tools and information to organizations, both public and private, to design and implement affordable solar models to address community needs and increase community solar installations by 2025.

As for the Solar District Cup, it is a collegiate competition through which student teams design and model solar plus storage systems for multiple buildings on local distribution networks. It is a three-year project ultimately meant to prepare students for the solar workforce.