The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) is launching the $5- million American-Made Upskill Prize for the Solar Manufacturing Workforce (Upskill Prize) to accelerate the historic expansion of the U.S. solar module manufacturing workforce and equip workers with the skills necessary to revitalize the domestic solar manufacturing supply chain.
Donor Name: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Awards and Prizes
Deadline: 05/22/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The goal of the American-Made Upskill Prize for the Solar Manufacturing Workforce is to accelerate the historic expansion of the U.S. solar module manufacturing supply chain workforce and equip workers with the skills needed to grow the U.S. solar manufacturing industry. Reestablishing U.S. manufacturing competitiveness will drive down costs and ensure that the nation leads the world in energy production and innovation. This involves developing comprehensive workforce plans based on the specific needs of solar manufacturers, fostering collaborations between manufacturers and training organizations, and attracting individuals from historically underserved backgrounds to pursue careers in solar manufacturing through job-ready training programs and upskilling opportunities. This prize is intended to supplement, not replace, manufacturer workforce training plans and budgets, and may be applied to workforce training for new or existing manufacturing facilities.
Teams participating in the Upskill Prize will propose comprehensive workforce training plans that are composed of either or both:
- New Worker Training- Develop and propose plans to train new workers with the skills they need to be successful in the solar manufacturing industry, particularly at new or expanding manufacturing facilities.
- Incumbent Worker Training- Develop and propose plans to train incumbent (i.e., existing) workers with new skills needed to support the growth of solar manufacturing.
Prizes
The Upskill Prize offers a total prize pool of $5,000,000 in cash. Winning teams will receive up to $500,000 each in cash in support of their submitted comprehensive workforce training plans. Teams may apply and win more than once.
Eligibility Criteria
The prize administrator has the right to refuse any submission for incompleteness or unresponsiveness to the technical topic areas. The competition is open only to the following:
- Private entities (for-profits and nonprofits)
- Nonfederal government entities such as states, counties, tribes, and municipalities
- Academic institutions.
Participants are subject to the following requirements:
- All teams must be led by either a U.S.-based PV manufacturer or a U.S.-based training organization.
- A U.S.-based PV manufacturer is a private entity incorporated in the United States that operates in the solar PV module supply chain, including all upstream components, like polysilicon, ingot, wafer, cell, and module, as well as glass and other module components. Given that the domestic PV module industry is expanding dramatically from a small, active base, there is a clear need to support recruitment and specialized training. Balance-of-systems manufacturers are not eligible for this prize, as they can leverage workforce skills developed in other industries (e.g., electrical, structural) and have a stronger ability to scale.
- A U.S.-based training organization is a public or private entity based in the United States that provides education and training opportunities to the current and future solar manufacturing workforce. Examples include but are not limited to community colleges, trade schools, employment training centers, community-based organizations, and joint apprenticeship or labor-management committees.
- Teams may partner with non-U.S.-based training organizations; however, payment must be made to a U.S.-based PV manufacturer and/or U.S.-based training organization.
- Private entities must be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States.
- Academic institutions must be based in the United States.
- DOE employees, employees of sponsoring organizations, members of their immediate families (e.g., spouses, children, siblings, or parents), and persons living in the same household as such persons, whether or not related, are not eligible to participate in the prize.
- Individuals who worked at DOE (federal employees or support service contractors) within 6 months prior to the submission deadline of any contest are not eligible to participate in any prize contests in this program.
- Federal entities and federal employees are not eligible to participate in any portion of the prize.
- DOE national laboratory employees cannot compete in the prize.
- Entities and individuals publicly banned from doing business with the U.S. government, such as entities and individuals debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participating in federal programs, are not eligible to compete.
- Individuals participating in a foreign government talent recruitment program2 sponsored by a country of risk3 and teams that include such individuals are not eligible to compete.
- Entities owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a government of a country of risk are not eligible to compete.
For more information, visit DOE.
