The American-Made Sunny Awards for Equitable Community Solar (The Sunny Awards) is a $200,000 prize competition that will recognize community solar portfolios and programs that employ or develop best practices to increase equitable access to the meaningful benefits of community solar for subscribers and their communities.
Community solar is any solar project or purchasing program in which the benefits of a solar project flow to multiple customers such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups, within a certain geographic area. Community solar projects and programs can vary significantly in their structure, implementation, and benefits they provide. The best practices of the projects and programs recognized by the Sunny Awards will provide a blueprint for community solar developers, state energy offices, utilities, and others to help achieve the National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP) target to power the equivalent of five million households with community solar by 2025, generating $1 billion in electricity bill savings.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the 2023 Sunny Awards in April 2023. The Sunny Awards offer up to thirty Finalist Awards at $2,500 each and up to five Grand Prize awards at $10,000 each. Fifteen of the 30 Finalist awardees will also be selected for either a Meaningful Benefit Award or an Engagement Award, both $5,000 cash prizes.
Inclusive Outreach Engagement Award
The Inclusive Outreach Engagement Award, formerly known as the Inclusive Solar Outreach Awards, is an exciting new addition to the 2023 Sunny Awards. This $5,000 prize highlights the impactful communication efforts and initiatives of up to 15 Sunny Awards finalists. Anyone with an eligible community solar-focused outreach campaign is encouraged to compete in the Sunny Awards.
How to Apply
To apply, community solar projects and programs must be able to prove that they are providing meaningful benefits in at least one of the following Meaningful Benefits:
- Low- to Moderate-Income (LMI) Household Access
- Greater Household Savings
- Resilience and Grid Benefits
- Community Ownership
- Equitable Workforce Development and Entrepreneurship
- Engagement Award: Community Participation
- Engagement Award: Inclusive Outreach
Competitors will nominate a portfolio (of 1-5 community solar projects) or state-, tribal-, territory-, municipal- or utility-run program that demonstrates replicable and scalable best practices in providing meaningful benefits to community solar subscribers and their communities. Competitors will be required to complete a cover page, narrative, and to provide the required evidence detailed in the official rules.
Interested participants can create a HeroX account and read the official rules to get started.
Award Stages
The Sunny Awards are a competition with four levels of recognition. Reviewers, including DOE staff and external experts, will evaluate nominations and give the following recognition and awards to top submissions.
Semifinalist Recognition
Strong evidence + meets criteria in at least two Meaningful Benefits
Any competitor who meets the criteria for at least two Meaningful Benefits will be recognized on the NCSP webpage and in a public announcement. Submissions must include appropriate, complete, and verifiable evidence of the best practices employed by their portfolio or state or utility program to provide at least two Meaningful Benefits. Semifinalist Recognition does not come with any cash prize. The competitors recognized as Semifinalists are evaluated for Finalist Awards by DOE reviewers using the scoring guidance in the prize rules document.
Finalist Awards
Strong evidence + meets criteria in at least two Meaningful Benefits
Up to 30 of the competitors selected for Semifinalist Recognition will be selected for a Finalist Award and receive a cash prize of $2,500. These competitors are then evaluated for the Grand Prize and Meaningful Benefit Awards by a panel of external reviewers using the scoring guidance in the Prize Rules document.
Meaningful Benefit Awards
Strong evidence + meets criteria in at least two Meaningful Benefits
Up to 15 of the 30 Finalist awardees will be selected for a Meaningful Benefit Award or Engagement Award and will receive an additional cash prize of $5,000 (for a potential total of $7,500 in cash prizes). These recognitions will highlight the attributes and best practices that set apart each winning portfolio or state or utility program in the following categories:
- LMI Household Access
- Greater Household Savings
- Resilience and Grid Benefits
- Community Ownership
- Equitable Workforce Development and Entrepreneurship
- Engagement Award: Community Participation
- Engagement Award: Inclusive Outreach
Sunny Grand Prize Awards
Strong evidence + meets criteria in at least two Meaningful Benefits
Up to 5 Finalist awardees will be selected as Grand Prize Award winners and will receive an additional cash prize of $10,000 for portfolios or state or utility programs that demonstrate exemplary and replicable best practices for delivering meaningful benefits across multiple categories. Sunny Grand Prize Award winners are not eligible for Meaningful Benefits/Engagement Awards.
One submission (portfolio or state/utility program) may win either a Grand Prize Award or a Meaningful Benefit/Engagement Award, not both.
Please review the official rules for the complete application process and instructions for competing.
If you want to receive updates on the prize or have any questions, please subscribe by using the contact feature on the HeroX platform or message us directly at
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