Community Energy Innovation Prize Results

CONCEPT PHASE RESULTS | PROGRESS PHASE RESULTS

The American-Made Community Energy Innovation Prize is multi-million-dollar prize competition designed to create opportunity for college students, manufacturing coalitions, and community organizations to engage underserved communities to ensure an equitable clean energy transition.

At the end of this challenge, nearly $7.5 million will be awarded to projects that have made immense impact on local communities.

CONCEPT Phase

Clean Energy and Manufacturing Ecosystem Tracks

The first phase of the Community Energy Innovation Prize’s Clean Energy and Manufacturing Ecosystem is complete, and 23 teams were named winners. Each team was awarded $100,000, and will now receive in-kind mentorship services throughout the PROGRESS Phase of the prize, where they will compete for additional awards. Read the official announcement from the U.S Department of Energy.

Clean Energy Ecosystem Track CONCEPT Phase Winners

Team	Location	Initiative
Community Through Colors	Vieques, Puerto Rico	Installing microgrid and community solar system upgrades and providing operations training to transform the community.
Convivencia Hispana Energy Navigators	St. James, MN	Developing a community energy navigator program to provide free energy audits to residents and increase clean energy capacity.
East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) and Cooperative Energy Futures (CEF)	Minneapolis, MN	Building a solar array on a former superfund site that is member-owned by neighbor residents.
First State Community Green Energy Coalition	Wilmington, DE	Building a Community Clean Energy Hub powered by solar, that provides workforce training and clean energy jobs for a Justice40 community.
Innovate Gloucester	Gloucester, MA	Deploying advanced clean energy technology at the local high school to benefit Justice40 communities.
LEI Foundation Energize Wai’anae Moku	Wai’anae, HI	Growing the Energy Warriors program through a series of workshops and events and identifying priorities to co-design an energy project.
People Power: Energy Security \| Ownership	Fort Smith, AR	Bringing the r benefits of clean energy to Fort Smith’s disadvantaged neighborhoods via solar installations on community centers.
Pomona, CA – Direct-to-Renter Clean Energy Program	Pomona, CA	Engaging low-income renters to co-create a direct-to-renter clean energy program that is scalable and transferrable nationwide.
Project: HOMES	Tangier, VA	Serving the remote, climate-vulnerable community of Tangier Island with weatherization services and building a network of trained contractors.
Requity Foundation	Baltimore, MD	Breaking down barriers between vocational education and the clean energy workforce through a variety of projects engaging the local community.
RESCo Innovation Team	Rosebud Sioux Reservation, SD	Coordinating clean energy efforts in transportation, finance, efficiency, and renewable and workforce development for the local community.
Shake Energy Collaborative	Honolulu, HI	Supporting historically disinvested communities in Hawai’i to co-design renewable energy projects and bid for upcoming utility procurements.
Team Bean	New Orleans, LA	Engaging youth in the decision-making process, planning, and funding of energy resilience projects and programming.

Manufacturing Ecosystem Track CONCEPT Phase Winners

Team	Location	Initiative
APLUS	Arlington, TX	Providing hands-on power electronic training to underserved students, while bridging the gap between lab learning and job searching.
CEIP Warren	Warren, OH	Combining manufacturing skills education with energy entrepreneurship, while fostering a vibrant hub of inclusivity and innovation.
Clean Tech Innovation Network	Chicago, IL	Supporting manufacturing-based innovation, entrepreneurship, and job creation for women and BIPOC to support grid modernization.
Eighth Generation Consulting	Pawhuska, OK	Supporting a solar recycling startup and empowering Indigenous communities through training, while blending traditional wisdom with economic growth objectives.
IMPACTT	Evansville, IN	Supporting economic development through entrepreneurial education, fostering manufacturing talent pipelines, and community engagement.
Green Leap Riverside	Riverside County, CA	Empowering manufacturers to reduce energy use and foster collaboration for a clean and sustainable future in Riverside County.
Metals Innovation Initiative (MI2)	Four Counties in KY	Revitalizing Kentucky metals manufacturing by implementing clean energy conversion, statewide recycling, and innovative workforce solutions in former coal communities.
PDX Clean Industry Network	Portland, OR	Supporting sustainable solutions to jumpstart an industrial symbiosis ecosystem in Portland’s Columbia Corridor.
Scale for ClimateTech	New York State	Bringing the Climate Equity Module to centers in NY state and fostering a shared vision of equitable innovation.
Southland Development Authority Team	Tinley Park, IL	Creating an engineering internship program, a cutting-edge manufacturing facility, and clean energy industry partnerships.

Collegiate Track

The first phase of the Community Energy Innovation Prize’s Collegiate Track is also complete, and five teams were named winners. The universities associated with each team was awarded $15,000 each, and teams won receive in-kind mentorship services throughout the PROGRESS Phase of the prize. Read the official Collegiate Track winner announcement from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Collegiate Track CONCEPT Phase Winners

Team	Location	Initiative
American Institute of Chemical Engineering and Lamar University	Beaumont, TX	Researching the capabilities of converting landfill gas to renewable natural gas, and implementing findings into university and underserved community-based curricula.
Greener CASA	Tyler, TX	Creating an academia-community partnership to bring free energy audits to underserved communities to promote energy efficiency.
GreenSynergy	Houston, TX	Integrating clean energy into education, utilizing solar panels, fuel cells, and other technologies to foster learning and sustainability.
Rural Stormwater Recovery Innovators	Cedar City, UT	Using smart stormwater mitigation strategies to protect community assets and produce and support cleaner water and clean energy.
Solar Decathlon at Georgia Tech	Atlanta, GA	Designing and building sustainable net-zero homes to address energy challenges, develop a green workforce, and train the next generation of sustainable professionals in Westside Atlanta.

PROGRESS Phase

Collegiate Track

The second phase of the Community Energy Innovation Prize’s Collegiate Track is complete. Teams that won the PROGRESS Phase were awarded $20,000 each to continue executing their Impact Plans through the third and final phase of the competition.

Collegiate Track PROGRESS Phase Winners

Team	Location	Community Partner(s)	Initiative
Greener CASA	Tyler, TX	Monarca Initiative	Creating an academia-community partnership to bring free energy audits to underserved communities and promote energy efficiency.
GreenSynergy	Houston, TX	Houston Community College	Integrating clean energy into education — utilizing solar panels, fuel cells, and other technologies to foster learning and inspire the future clean energy workforce.
Solar Decathlon at Georgia Tech	Atlanta, GA	Lifecycle Building Center of Greater Atlanta, Westside Future Fund, Atlanta Housing, ATL, USGBC	Designing and building a net-zero home to address energy challenges, develop a green workforce, and train the next generation of sustainable professionals in Westside Atlanta.