Registration is now open for the one-semester/two quarter version of the competition! The deadline to register a team for that division is Jan. 25, 2024.
Register for the Informational Webinar about the one-semester/two-quarter division on Dec. 7, 4-5 p.m. ET to find out more about what you'll do and how to win.
Welcome to the Solar District Cup Class of 2023-2024!
WHAT IT IS: The Solar District Cup is a collegiate competition that challenges multidisciplinary student teams to design and model distributed energy systems for a mixed-use campus or district—groups of buildings served by a common electrical distribution feeder.
The competition engages students across disciplines—engineering, finance, urban planning, sustainability, communications, and more—to reimagine how energy is generated, managed, and used in a district.
HOW IT WORKS: Student teams assume the role of a solar developer to produce conceptual designs, financing, and project development planning in a solar-plus-storage proposal for a district use case.
Over the course of the competition, students receive training from solar-industry experts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and partner companies. Students also receive free access to leading industry tools to enable successful solar system design and financial modeling.
Teams compete in one of multiple divisions. Students submit deliverable packages for evaluation and present their solutions to judges live at an online competition event.
Winning teams from each division are selected by industry judges based on the quality of students’ proposed solutions. Judges are looking for winning proposals that maximize the district’s energy offset and financial savings over the contracted or useful life of the system while also integrating aesthetic, infrastructure, and community considerations.
WHY JOIN THIS COMPETITION?
The Solar District Cup seeks to inspire students to consider new career opportunities, learn industry-relevant skills, engage with the professional marketplace, and prepare to lead the next generation of workforce in distributed solar energy.
As competitors, students:
Gain experience with innovative renewable energy design
Practice with industry-leading tools used every day in solar development
Engage with industry professionals to forge connections and transition to the solar energy workforce
Develop real-world solutions that shape the future of solar energy.
PREVIOUS PROGRAMS
The Solar District Cup originated in 2019. Learn more about the past classes of competitors, including winners and district use cases:
The Solar District Cup is directed and administered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and is funded by the DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office. Learn more.
GUIDELINES
The Rules document provides a framework for student effort, team submittal requirements, and judging evaluation. Consult the official Class of 2023-2024 Rules (published August 15, 2023).
GOAL
The goal for each team is to design a solar-plus-storage system for a campus or district that maximizes energy offset and financial savings during the contracted (if power purchase agreement [PPA] or lease) or useful (if cash purchase) life of the system.
Competition teams analyze electric distribution grid interactions and assume the role of renewable energy system developers to produce a PPA, lease, and/or cash purchase proposal for their division’s district.
The Solar District Cup has multiple divisions. Each division has a set of teams that compete against each other.
Each team is tasked to design a solution for a use case of an existing mixed-use district or campus interested in increased distributed energy development. For most divisions, the competition organizers provide teams with the details of their division’s district use case. Continuing in the Class of 2023–2024, there is a division in which student teams identify their own defined district use case of electricity load and site data.
A district use case is a defined geographic area served by one or more electrical distribution feeders, with a collection of spaces potentially available for PV installation, including but not limited to building rooftops, façades, open land, parking, agricultural dual use, bodies of water, and other facilities or spaces.
HOW JUDGING WORKS
A qualified panel of three to five judges—comprising subject-matter experts and representatives from the partner district use cases selected by the competition organizers—score finalist submissions. The following are judging statements judges will use to evaluate Final Deliverable Packages for the Class of 2023-2024:
PROJECT PROPOSAL - The proposal presents a clear and concise summary of the project. Both the proposal and the presentation make a compelling case for why the proposed solution is the best choice for the district given its needs, constraints, and goals.
CONCEPTUAL SYSTEM DESIGN - Conceptual system design proposes creative and innovative solution that demonstrates excellent analysis, system design, optimal battery use strategy, and understanding of the PV hosting capacity with distribution constraints.
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS - Financial analyses communicate a strong grasp of renewable energy project finance. Input assumptions are justifiable, calculations are correct, battery operation strategy delivers maximum economic benefits, and pricing and rate of return are attractive to the market. The outputs of both the battery analysis and the customer savings analysis are included as tabs in the Excel-based financial model.
DEVELOPMENT PLAN - Proposed building, site, construction, and development plans with any rezoning add significant value in a comprehensive, actionable, and feasible approach for the district, authorities having jurisdiction, and surrounding community members with distributional equity
COMPETITION DELIVERABLES
Teams participating for the full academic year are expected to submit two deliverables: a Progress Deliverable Package part way through the competition and a Final Deliverable Package. Teams that submit the Progress Deliverable receive feedback from the organizer staff.
Student teams participating for just the spring semester (or winter and spring quarters) compete within their own division and submit only the Final Deliverable Package in April.
Competition deliverables are submitted via the online HeroX competition platform. Details about what teams should include in each of the deliverables are available in the official Class of 2023-2024 Rules.
ELIGIBILITY
The Solar District Cup invites teams with at least three students enrolled in accredited U.S.-based collegiate institutions to participate. Students must be enrolled in at least one class and must be pursuing a degree during the competition. Note that graduating during the competition period does not disqualify team members.
To be eligible to present to judges, team members must not have graduated any earlier than the fall semester or quarter immediately preceding the final competition event. Students and faculty advisors are not required to be U.S. citizens at the time of the competition. Judges, competition organizer staff, and DOE and national laboratory employees are ineligible to compete.
Although any level of collegiate student is eligible to compete, the scope is intended to be challenging for multidisciplinary teams of upper-level undergraduate students. Student participation may be integrated into a senior design or capstone project, count as elective or independent study course credit, be added to the curriculum of existing classes, be treated as a seminar topic, be engaged as part of a student interest club, or be an extracurricular student activity.
Each team is encouraged to have at least one faculty advisor, but this is not required for participation. Teams are also encouraged to connect with mentors inside or outside their school. If a team of students needs assistance in identifying a mentor or faculty advisor at their institution, they can contact the competition organizers for help.
By uploading a deliverable package, a team certifies that it complies with the eligibility requirements. If the organizers become aware that a team or individual is not eligible, that team may be disqualified from the competition.
Solar District Cup Class of 2023-2024 opens registration on HeroX.
Aug. 15, 2023, 2 p.m. PDT
Rules Available
The Solar District Cup Class of 2023-2024 Rules are released on HeroX.
Aug. 17, 2023, 1 p.m. PDT
Informational Webinar
An informational webinar by video conference to provide important competition details to students and faculty considering participation in the Solar District Cup Class of 2023-2024.
Aug. 31, 2023, 2 p.m. PDT
Request a registration code for RE+ national conference
Deadline for registered team members to request code for complementary registration to the RE+ 2023 national conference (September 11-14, Las Vegas, NV).
Aug. 31, 2023, 11 p.m. PDT
Registration Phase: Click "Solve this Challenge" then submit an Entry by 9-28
Students or faculty must click "Solve this Challenge" then Submit a Register Entry by 9-28 to compete in the full academic year competition.
Sept. 28, 2023, 8:59 p.m. PDT
Registration Closed
Deadline for teams starting for the full academic year to complete registration. To qualify for the “bring your own district” division, teams must register by this date.
Oct. 3, 2023, 2 p.m. PDT
Announcement of Participating Teams
All teams who have successfully completed a Register Entry for the Solar District Cup Class of 2023-2024 full academic year are announced publicly.
Nov. 16, 2023, 8:59 p.m. PST
Submission Deadline
Deadline for receipt of Progress Deliverable Package from Participating Teams starting in the Fall to receive feedback on their design, analysis, and Rules compliance.
Nov. 27, 2023, 7 a.m. PST
Enter
Registration for teams participating in the competition on a condensed timeline (Spring semester or Winter/Spring quarters) begins. Seeking applicants for new teams to enroll in the version of the competition on a condensed timeline (Jan.-April, 2024).
Dec. 3, 2023, 3:33 a.m. PST
You are here
Dec. 14, 2023, 4 p.m. PST
Progress Deliverable Feedback
Feedback provided to all Participating Teams who submitted a Progress Deliverable Package.
Jan. 25, 2024, 2 p.m. PST
Registration Closed
Deadline to submit a Register Entry to participate in the version of the competition on a condensed timeline (Spring semester or Winter/Spring quarters).
Jan. 30, 2024, 10 a.m. PST
Finalist Teams Announced
Finalist teams are publicly announced.
April 18, 2024, 2 p.m. PDT
Submission Deadline
Deadline for receipt of Final Deliverable Packages from all Finalist Teams.
April 19, 2024, 10 a.m. PDT
Judging
April 22, 2024, 6 p.m. PDT
Enter
Enter Final Presentation Form Submission Phase
April 25, 2024, 2 p.m. PDT
Presentation File(s) Deadline
Deadline for receipt of presentation file(s) from all Finalist Teams.
April 29, 2024, 7 a.m. PDT
Judging Closed
finish
April 29, 2024, 8 a.m. PDT
Won
First-place winners of each division present in the Project Pitch event.
Register to join an Informational Webinar Dec. 7 to find out about the Winter/Spring division of the Solar District Cup. Do you know any students looking for a chance to set themselves apart when applying for jobs in the solar energy sector? Consider encouraging them to join the U.S. Department of Energy Solar District Cup Class of 2023–2024! Now is a great time for students to get involved and jump in on a live informational webinar Dec. 7, 4–5 p.m. ET.
Here’s what students need to know to get started:
The Winter/Spring Division is open for registration now. In this competition, student teams gain experience that can help them secure jobs after graduation by designing and proposing solar system design solutions for an actual college campus, including developing conceptual designs with financing models and pitching to industry judges in April 2024.
We are excited to announcethat 56 teams from 51 collegiate institutions are participating in the Solar District Cup Class of 2023-2024! The class of competitors includes students and faculty advisors from new and returning schools across the country.
"The students of today are the future renewable energy workforce," said Becca Jones-Albertus, the DOE's acting deputy assistant secretary for renewable energy. "The teams in the Solar District Cup Class of 2024 are pushing themselves and getting to see what it takes to be a leader in renewable energy industries. It's inspiring to think about how much they'll learn over the course of the competition. I'm looking forward to seeing what innovative ideas they pursue!"
Please join us in welcoming the following collegiate institutions with one or more student teams as participants in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition Class of 2023-2024:
Alfred University
Appalachian State University
Arizona State University
Baylor University
Boise State University
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
California State University, Long Beach
Columbia University
Dartmouth College
Drexel University
Florida A&M University
Georgia College & State University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Kankakee Community College
Louisiana Tech University
Macalester College
Maine Maritime Academy
Manhattan College
Miami University, Oxford
Navajo Technical University
North Carolina A&T State University
North Carolina State University
Northeastern University
Portland State University
Saint Louis University
Santa Clara University
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southern Methodist University
Texas Tech University
The City College of New York
The George Washington University
The Ohio State University
The Pennsylvania State University
The State University of New York at Morrisville
The University of Alabama
The University of Texas at Dallas
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Dayton
University of Georgia
University of Houston
University of Minnesota Duluth
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
University of Pennsylvania
University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus
University of South Florida
University of Utah
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Villanova University
West Texas A&M University
Youngstown State University
“We are honored to have so many returning schools again this year,” said Sara Farrar, competition organizer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “This competition has become part of many schools’ regular curriculum and extra-curricular activities. We’re also thrilled to see 15 new schools join the Solar District Cup so far and looking forward to seeing who joins the competition for the one-semester division that opens for registration this December.”
Additionally, we are pleased to announce three of the district use cases for the 2023-2024 competition. Students who opted for an assigned district use case will design, model, and propose distributed solar energy systems for one of the following campuses:
California State University, Northridge
Miami University of Ohio
The University of Texas at Dallas
Special thanks to partnering organizations, including Aurora and RE+ Events. Their support is critical to student success in the competition and beyond as they continue their education and enter the renewable energy workforce.
We are thrilled to have so many teams competing from a wide variety of schools and disciplines in the Class of 2023-2024. Stay tuned to see who joins the competition and which teams advance as finalists in January!
The Solar District Cup registration deadline for the full-year competition is today! Teams that register by today’s deadline will have more time to execute projects and access training, the chance to define their own district use case, and feedback from competition organizers on progress deliverables.
Collegiate teams interested in participating in the full academic-year-long competition must register by today—Thursday, Sept. 28, at 5 p.m. ET.
Here’s a reminder on how to register your team—you don’t need to have any work done, but you do need to follow these steps:
Click the “Solve this Challenge” button at the top of this page: You will receive a confirmation email about HeroX registration, but you won’t be enrolled yet in the competition.
Click on the “Begin Entry” button at the top of the Solar District Cup HeroX main page once you’ve signed up for the site.
Fill out the “Create Submission” form with the best info you have right now—your answers can be general at this time.
Click “Submit Entry” to complete your registration.
Here’s how you know you’re registered: You will receive a welcome email from the Solar District Cup team signaling that you are officially registered to compete!
If today’s deadline isn’t feasible for your team, keep in mind that there is another way to participate this year: Registration will re-open by Dec. 5 for a version of the competition on a condensed timeline. The one-semester registration deadline is January 25, 2024.
But we urge you register today by 5 p.m. ET for full academic-year participation—Please send any questions about registering your team to !
We hope to see your school among the teams participating in the Class of 2023–2024!
There's only one week left in Fall registration! Collegiate teams interested in participating in the academic-year-long Solar District Cup competition must register by Thursday, Sept. 28, at 5 p.m. ET. Applying by this date offers the many benefits of the full competition experience, including more time to execute projects, the chance to define your own district use case, and feedback from competition organizers on progress deliverables.
To register your team: Just click the “Solve this Challenge” button at the top of the HeroX Solar District Cup page to get started! You don’t need to have any work done, but you do need to follow these steps:
Once you click the “Solve this Challenge” button at the top of the HeroX page, you will receive a confirmation email about HeroX registration, but you won’t be enrolled yet in the competition.
Click on the “Begin Entry” button at the top of the Solar District Cup HeroX main page once you’ve signed up for the site.
Fill out the “Create Submission” form with the best info you have right now—your answers can be general at this time.
Click “Submit Entry” to complete team registration.
Heads-up! Collegiate teams interested in participating in the academic year-long Solar District Cup competition must register by Thursday, Sept. 28 at 5 p.m. ET. Registering by this date offers student teams the full competition experience, including the opportunity to define their own district use case and receive instructional feedback from competition organizers on progress deliverables.
It’s time to build your team and seek an optional faculty advisor—new this year are Student Recruiting Materials to help you out.
Ready to enter? Just click the “Solve this Challenge” button at the top of the HeroX Solar District Cup page to get started! You don’t need to have any work done, but you do need to follow these steps:
Once you click the “Solve this Challenge” button at the top of the HeroX page, you will receive a confirmation email about HeroX registration, but you won’t be enrolled yet in the competition.
Click on the “Begin Entry” button at the top of the Solar District Cup HeroX main page once you’ve signed up for the site with an account.
Fill out the “Create Submission” form with the best info you have right now—your answers can be general at this time.
Click “Submit Entry” to complete team registration.
Here’s how you know your team is registered for the competition: You will receive a welcome email from the Solar District Cup organizers signaling that you are officially registered to compete!
We hope to see you participate in the Solar District Cup this fall!
Questions? Get in touch with the competition organizers: .
