Solar Ambassador Prize

Office: Grid Deployment Office

Funding Amount: $3.85 Million 

Premio para Embajadores de Energia Solar

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Learn more about Solar Ambassadors’ work supporting GDO’s Solar Access Program.

Description 

Through the Solar Ambassador Prize, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will award a total of $3.85 million to 16 community organizations across Puerto Rico to help accelerate the installation of residential solar and battery storage systems on up to 30,000 homes across Puerto Rico through GDO's Solar Access Program.

In December 2022, President Biden signed the Fiscal Year 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act into law, which included $1 billion for DOE to establish the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund to improve the resilience of the Puerto Rican electric grid, with a focus on the island’s most vulnerable households.  
  
On July 31, 2023, DOE’s Grid Deployment Office released a Funding Opportunity Announcement for up to $450 million to support residential solar and battery storage deployment for very low-income, single-family households that:  

  • Are located in areas that have a high percentage of very low-income households and experience frequent and prolonged power outages, or  
  • Include a resident with an energy-dependent disability, such as an electric wheelchair user or individual who uses an at-home dialysis machine.   

The $3.85 million Solar Ambassador Prize is a complementary competitive funding opportunity for organizations in Puerto Rico to assist DOE in identifying, engaging, and assisting with intake processing of qualifying households for residential solar and battery storage installations.

Prize Selections

On November 29, 2023, DOE announced 16 community organizations as selectees for the Solar Ambassador Prize. Each of the following organizations will receive seed funding, participate in DOE training sessions, and will be eligible for further compensation based on the number of households they enroll for residential solar systems and battery storage installations:

  • Alianza de Médicos Al Rescate, Inc.
  • Borincana Foundation Inc.
  • Cáritas de Puerto Rico, Inc.
  • Centro de Microempresas y Tecnologías Agrícolas Sustentables Yauco Inc. (CMTAS)
  • Centro Madre Teresa de Calcuta Inc.
  • Centros Sor Isolina Ferré
  • Cooperativa Hidroeléctrica de la Montaña
  • Corporación Desarrollo Económico Vivienda y Salud (CODEVyS), Inc.
  • Grupo Resiliente del Oeste/ Sunrise Solar & Consulting LLC
  • Movimiento para el Alcance de Vida Independiente (MAVI)
  • Pathstone Corporation
  • Por Los Nuestros Inc.
  • Productores de Café de Puerto Rico, Inc. (PROCAFE)
  • Programa de Apoyo y Enlace Comunitario, Inc.
  • The Saint Bernard Project Inc.
  • ViequesLove

For more details on eligibility and other aspects of the Solar Ambassador Prize, please consult the Solar Ambassador Prize Rules.  

Key Dates 

Application Opens July 31, 2023 
Informational Webinar August 17, 2023 
Submission Deadline October 10, 2023 
Award Announcement November 29, 2023
Outreach Activities Begin Early 2024 
Video Url
The Grid Deployment Office and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory hosted this public webinar on August 17, 2023.
U.S. Department of Energy

Additional Information