ANSWERED: How Might My Data Be Used?

As a Solar Data Bounty Prize competitor, you may be wondering, “What happens to my photovoltaic (PV) data after I submit my application?” We can answer that! Data from the winning systems will be made accessible to the public via the Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI) data lake and a supporting web-based interface. 

Once this data is public, it will contribute to commercial and academic research and development efforts seeking to improve the accuracy of PV system modeling. Your data will also help lower the risk associated with developing and operating PV assets—a necessary condition for decarbonizing the power grid by 2035.

Additional Points for Underrepresented States

Systems installed in the same U.S. territory or state will share a 20% bonus modifier. The actual value of the modifier will depend on the number of competing systems that are installed in that state or territory.

Example: In Stage 2, five systems (j = 1, 2, ..., 5) enter from Texas, whereas seven
systems (k = 1, 2, ..., 7) enter from Massachusetts. If their respective V3 scores are V3j
and V3k, then their final scores will be calculated as follows: 

• [Final Score]j = (1 + 0.20/5) * V3j (for each of the systems in Texas)
• [Final Score]k = (1 + 0.20/7) * V3k (for each of the systems in Massachusetts)

Anonymization Waivers

As a reminder, the system location, inverter and module metadata, and electric data related to your submission will automatically remain anonymous unless you choose to waive these features. Each waived anonymization feature will multiply your score by a factor of 1.26.

Read more about boosting your overall score in the Official Rules (Section 10), and don’t forget to submit your Solar Data Bounty Prize application by Sept. 6 at 5 p.m. ET.