U.S. Department of Energy

SunShot Prize: Race to the Rooftops

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the SunShot Prize aims to spur low-cost rooftop solar installations across the nation. This competition offers a total of up to $10 million in cash awards to the first three teams that repeatedly demonstrate an average of $1 per watt (W) for non-hardware costs such as permitting, interconnection, and inspection.

Despite unprecedented cost reductions for solar hardware over recent years, as much as 50% of the total cost for residential and small-commercial photovoltaic (PV) systems is related to the price to plug in. Enabling dramatic reductions in the non-hardware costs—or "soft costs"—of solar is now the greatest challenge to achieving cost-competitive solar by 2020.

The SunShot Prize directs the efforts of solar innovators at solving the soft cost challenge. Winning teams will successfully deploy 5,000 small-scale (2–15 kilowatt) rooftop PV systems with non-hardware costs averaging $1/W during Phase I of the competition. Phase II, which is intended to assess business sustainability of the winning teams, calls for the installation of an additional 1,000 qualifying systems.

Getting Started

Interested teams can now register to participate and begin tracking their installations. In order to officially qualify for participation in Phase I, teams must receive concept paper assessment letters from DOE during the pre-submission period. The sooner a team registers, the sooner they can start making progress toward the installation goal.

Competition Rules

The SunShot Prize competition rules explain, in detail, how to become a registered participant, install qualifying PV systems, and submit results for official review. Potential participants are encouraged to review this document and submit any outstanding questions.

By setting an ambitious target, the SunShot Prize aims to spur novel public-private partnerships, original business models, and innovative approaches. By breaking a significant price barrier, the winners will demonstrate that solar energy is an affordable solution for millions of American families and businesses.

Graphic of four steps to participate in the DOE Prize.