Round 3 of the American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize, launched in September 2024, expanded beyond community solar to include other forms of distributed solar energy technologies. The $10 million prize from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and co-developers to learn, participate, and grow their operations to support successful distributed solar projects.

The goal of this prize is to expand a robust ecosystem of distributed solar project developers that incorporate meaningful benefits into projects across the United States.

The prize is part of the Community Power AcceleratorTM, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)  National Community Solar Partnership+ (NCSP+) that connects developers, investors, philanthropists, and community-based organizations to get more equitable solar projects financed and deployed. The Accelerator provides training, technical assistance, and an online platform to support the critical connections necessary to finance and expand access to affordable distributed solar. 

To date, the Community Power Accelerator has trained over 250 community solar developers and its virtual marketplace has 143 verified community solar projects seeking capital—with 180 megawatts of potential community solar, and $1.5 billion in funds committed by capital providers.