Counties can again earn national recognition and prizes by showcasing their support for solar energy by applying for the 2018 SolSmart County Challenge. 

NACo is a proud partner of SolSmart, a national designation and technical assistance program for local governments funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. SolSmart promotes the use of best practices by local governments to ensure greater ease and affordability for residents and businesses to install and access solar energy. In May, SolSmart celebrated its 200th designee and the race is now on to see which local government will be number 300.

Solar energy can offer a wide variety of benefits to county governments and county residents alike, including increased resiliency, broader tax base and well-paying jobs.  To help counties advance solar development and reap these community benefits, NACo is encouraging more counties to strive toward SolSmart designation. To that end, we are excited to launch the 2018 SolSmart County Challenge, a national competition for counties to showcase their support for solar energy. The SolSmart County Challenge will run from Monday, July 16th, until Friday, September 21st.

This year’s SolSmart County Challenge offers an exciting new prize opportunity for counties that are considering solar installations on or near county facilities.  To help better understand the cost and benefits of proposed solar projects and help county leaders make informated decisions, winning counties will receive advanced customized technical assistance from a team of solar and local government experts, including The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).   This assistance can include a complete techno-economic analysis of the  performance and financial considerations for proposed solar installations on up to 5 community sites, using a suite of modeling tools ;  drafting support or review of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for county solar installations ; and/or guidance on customizing a model Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for county solar installations.  

Requirements for SolSmart County Challenge submittal package:

• A Solar Statement that demonstrates the county's commitment to pursue SolSmart designation
• A 1-page memo explaining the customized technical assistance need and request for your county, to include: 
  • Details of the proposed solar project location(s)-- inlcuding reason for site(s) selection and operational use(s) (e.g. a roof-mounted system at a library, etc.)
  • Desired outcomes and impacts for the county

The 2018 SolSmart County Challenge has two categories for entry based on county size: 1) counties with a population of 100,000 or less and 2) larger counties with populations greater than 100,000. Two winners will be selected, one from each category, based on a review of the solar analysis memo by a 3-person committee that will weigh the feasibility of the request and the demonstrated need and impact.

The prizes for the two winners of the SolSmart County Challenge include:

• Advanced customized solar technical assistance(outlined above) 
• Recognition and presentation opportunity on a future NACo webinar
• Recognition in NACo communication platforms, including NACo Blog and social media. 
• Travel reimbursements for 2019 NACo Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.

Please note: the 2018 SolSmart County Challenge is open to new submissions only. Counties that submitted a SolSmart scorecard prior to July 16, 2018, are not eligible to participate and receive prizes. Resubmissions, SolSmart Early Adopter Communities, and communities with a SolSmart Advisor are also ineligible for the SolSmart County Challenge.

Please email Jack Morgan if you’d like to get started on the SolSmart scorecard, learn more about the 2018 SolSmart County Challenge, and/or share a story or picture to about solar energy impacting your county.