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How To Apply for the Solar Decathlon

Is your school team interested in participating in the next U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon? Find out what you need to know to apply below.

The application process for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 is now closed. The request for proposals for the 2013 competition will occur in summer 2011.

Solar Decathlon 2013

The request for proposals for Solar Decathlon 2013 will occur in summer 2011. Colleges, universities, and other post-secondary educational institutions worldwide are welcome to submit proposals. All proposals are reviewed, scored, and ranked. Subject to the quantity and quality of proposals, a limited number of teams will be selected for entry.

Institutions considering the submission of a proposal are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the competition rules. Please note that rule changes are typical from one competition to the next. In addition, core team members from prospective schools are encouraged to attend some or all of the 2011 competition to observe the teams in action and learn valuable lessons that can be applied to their own projects.

Solar Decathlon 2011

The request for proposals (RFP) and RFP amendments for the 2011 competition are available below. The following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

Please note the following important dates for the Solar Decathlon 2011 RFP:

  • Amendment 1 posted: Nov. 3, 2009
  • Proposals due: Nov. 17, 2009
  • Notification of competitive-range proposals: Jan. 13, 2010
  • Amendment 2 posted: Jan. 21, 2010
  • Amendment 3 posted: Jan. 27, 2010
  • Amendment 4 posted: Feb. 19, 2010
  • Conceptual designs due: March 16, 2010.

Teams selected for Solar Decathlon 2011 were announced April 15, 2010.

Please submit questions regarding the RFP process to Jeffrey.Soltesz@nrel.gov.