More consumers are paying attention to the environmental impacts of the manufacture and the end-of-life cycle of solar photovoltaic (PV) equipment. As the U.S. federal government ramps up solar adoption in construction and power purchase agreements over the next few years, they’ll need to purchase solar products that are certified with certain ecolabels to meet sustainability goals.
The American-Made Promoting Registration of Inverters and Modules with Ecolabel (PRIME) Prize is a two-phase, $2.7 million competition aimed at increasing EPEAT registration of solar PV modules and inverters. The goal is to help manufacturers meet the high bar for EPEAT product standards and make their products more attractive to purchasers with sustainability goals.
The prize incentivizes the registration of PV module and inverter products through the EPEAT ecolabel. EPEAT is an ecolabel operated and maintained by the Global Electronics Council (GEC) for certain electronic products, including solar PV modules and inverters.
Why is the EPEAT Ecolabel Important?
EPEAT is the only ecolabel for solar PV products recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—yet, as of August 2024, there are only four certified PV products (all modules) according to the EPEAT Registry.
The goal of the PRIME Prize is to expand the number of EPEAT-registered products in the solar market, enabling the federal government to meet procurement requirements and sustainability goals as it purchases more solar power throughout the years.
Registering PV modules and inverters with EPEAT qualifies product(s) to:
Meet sustainability regulations,
Be bought by environmentally conscious consumers, including U.S. federal agencies, and
Demonstrate the positive environmental impact of products while boosting sales.
Prize Structure
The PRIME Prize offers a total prize pool of $2.7 million in cash prizes across two phases.
Phase 1: Manufacturers submit letters of intent to register up to four PV module or inverter products with EPEAT and provide proof of participation with the GEC. Winners will receive $50,000 in cash and move to Phase 2. Submissions due April 17, 2025.
Phase 2: Manufacturers validate that their products meet all required EPEAT criteria and submit proof of EPEAT product registration from the GEC. At the end of Phase 2, manufacturers win $100,000 in cash for each of the products identified in their Phase 1 submission that achieve EPEAT registry listing, up to $400,000 in cash total. Submissions due on a three-month rolling basis May 2026 – March 2027.
