[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 226 (Wednesday, November 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84565-84566]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28235]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy


The SunShot Prize: Solar in Your Community Challenge

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice; Release of prize competition rules and process to 
participate.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) gives notice of the official 
release of rules for the SunShot Prize: Solar in Your Community 
Challenge. The Solar in your Community Challenge is a $5 million prize 
competition to expand solar access to underserved segments, 
specifically low-and-moderate-income (LMI) communities; non-federal 
governments (i.e. state, local, and tribal), and non-profit 
organizations. The Challenge supports the creation, demonstration, and 
scaling of innovative, replicable, and sustainable business and 
financial models that can successfully unlock solar access to these 
underserved segments. A $500,000 Grand Prize will be awarded to the 
best team that can most successfully demonstrate a model and plan to 
scale solar to low and moderate income market segments. Other top teams 
will compete to receive four final prizes totaling $500,000 based on 
their achievements and potential to scale up. In addition to competing 
for final prizes, DOE will award selected teams a total of $2 million 
in seed awards and $2 million in technical assistance throughout an 18-
month performance period starting in April 2017 based on successful 
milestone completion. The rules for the Challenge can be found at 
www.solarinyourcommunity.org.

DATES: Submission to participate in the Solar in Your Community 
Challenge started on November 18, 2016 and ends on March 17, 2017. The 
18-month performance period starts in April 2017 and ends in October 
2018. Final prizes are expected to be announced in January 2019. All 
dates are subject to change.

ADDRESSES: To apply, parties interested in participating should visit 
www.solarinyourcommunity.org and fill out an application.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Odette Mucha, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Mailstop EE-4S, 1000 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 
20585-0001. Telephone: (202) 287-1862, Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 
2010 (America COMPETES), Public Law 111-358, enacted January 4, 2011, 
authorizes Federal agencies to issue competitions to stimulate 
innovations in technology, education, and science.

Subject of the Competition

    The Solar in Your Community Challenge is a $5 million competition 
sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) SunShot Initiative 
and administered by State University of New York Polytechnic Institute. 
The goal is to expand solar access to underserved segments, 
specifically low-and-moderate-income (LMI) communities, non-federal 
governments (i.e. state, local, and tribal), and non-profit 
organizations. The Challenge supports the creation, demonstration, and 
scaling of innovative, replicable, and sustainable business and 
financial models that can successfully unlock solar access to these 
underserved segments.
    A $500,000 Grand Prize will be awarded to the best team that can 
most successfully demonstrate a model and plan to scale solar to low 
and moderate income markets. Top teams will also compete to receive 
four additional final prizes totaling $500,000 based on their 
achievements and potential to scale up. In addition to competing for 
final prizes, DOE will award selected teams a total of $2 million in 
seed awards and $2 million in technical assistance. Seed awards will be 
granted incrementally based on milestones during the 18-month 
performance period.
    Two types of teams can participate in the Challenge: Project-
focused and program-focused teams. Both types of teams will pursue 
solar efforts that benefit LMI communities (e.g., residents of public 
housing), municipal governments (e.g., schools), or non-profits (e.g., 
foodbanks) that aggregate to 25kW-5MW in size.
    Project teams will pursue a portfolio of new solar projects, while 
program-teams will establish new initiatives that support and enable 
these types of projects. Any entity can lead the project teams, but the 
teams should include a wide range of partners (e.g., solar developers, 
utilities, cities, financial institutions, and community groups). 
State, local, and/or tribal governments; financial institutions; or 
utilities should lead the program-focused teams.

The Rules for Being Eligible To Participate in the Competition

    The Challenge is open only to: (a) Citizens or permanent residents 
of the United States; and (b) private or non-federal public entities, 
such as townships, tribes, corporations, or other organizations that 
are incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the 
United States. DOE employees, employees of sponsoring organizations, 
members of their immediate families (spouses, children, siblings, 
parents), and persons living in the same household as such persons, 
whether or not related, are not eligible to participate in this 
competition. Federal entities and federal employees, acting within the 
scope of their employment, are also not eligible to participate in any 
portion of this competition.

Applicants Planning To Participate as Part of a Team Must Meet the 
Following Qualifying Requirements

    A team must have a single legal entity representing the entire 
team. This entity shall be designated the Team Lead. The Team Lead is 
responsible for complying

[[Page 84566]]

with all rules of this competition including coordinating with its team 
members, resolving any conflicts, working with DOE and its prize 
administrator, participating according to the governing guidelines of 
the Marketplace, responsibly allocating resources, submitting all 
required materials throughout the competition, and complying with all 
guidance and restrictions, including restrictions around intellectual 
property.
    For program-focused teams only, the Team Lead should be an electric 
utility, an electric co-operative, municipal power company, a financial 
institution, or a state, local or tribal government entity.
    Each team member must be either: (a) Citizens or permanent 
residents of the United States; or (b) private or non-federal public 
entities, such as townships, tribes, corporations, or other 
organizations that are incorporated in and maintain a primary place of 
business in the United States. A subsidiary of a foreign entity that is 
incorporated in the United States and that maintains a primary place of 
business in the United States is also eligible.
    To apply, parties interested in participating should visit 
www.solarinyourcommunity.org and fill out an application.

Technical Assistance

    DOE and the Prize Administrator will provide a total of $2 million 
in technical assistance to selected teams.

Prizes

    Select Teams will receive seed prizes based on criteria assessing 
the team's potential impact (40%), innovation (30%), and the team 
itself (30%).
    Final prizes will be determined through evaluation of teams' 
progress over the 18-month period of performance, their overall ability 
to create replicable, scalable, economically-sustainable business and 
financial models, and the innovativeness of their approach. The 
decisions of the judges are final and may not be challenged by 
participating teams.

    Issued in Washington, DC on November 17, 2016.
Roland Risser,
Deputy Assistant Secretary Renewable Power, Office of Energy Efficiency 
and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2016-28235 Filed 11-22-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P