Our annual Project of the Year Awards are a celebration of the solar industry. The hard work of construction teams and installers, the creativity of engineers, the leadership of developers and the dedication of so many local businesses, government agencies and nonprofits are all on display. The Project of the Year Awards are also a reminder of what more can be done. How a supportive policy or forward-thinking corporation can make all the difference not just for the distributed generation of electricity but for bringing about social justice and building a new local workforce.

The Project of the Year Awards are also … awards! We select a field of nominees from a pile of submissions. Our reader base of solar industry pros vote for the projects that impress them the most, and then we celebrate them in the pages you’re about to read.  Congrats to all of this year’s winners and thanks to everyone who nominated a project, voted and/or shared it on social media. And thanks to Aurora Solar for sponsoring this year’s awards.

Residential Project of the Year

Seneca Nation Residential Solar Program

The Seneca Nation received a grant to use toward renewable energy projects and contracted with GreenSpark Solar, located in the Greater Rochester region of New York, to install PV systems up to 10 kW in size for eligible members at a serious discount.

GreenSpark_Donna and install_Seneca Nation
Sanders-Elementary-10

C&I Ground-Mount Project of the Year

MSD Wayne

Veregy installed 845 kW in total across the Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Wayne Township in Indianapolis, Ind. — 530 kW on ground-mounts and carports; 315 kW on rooftops. That solar energy was part of a broader energy plan, also developed and maintained by Veregy, that resulted in four net-zero electric buildings in the district and an estimated $58 million in savings over 25 years.

Utility-Scale Project of the Year

Arrow Canyon

The Arrow Canyon project is a 200 MW solar array and 375 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) located in Moapa, Nevada, within the Mojave Desert. Developed by EDF Renewables with McCarthy Building Companies serving as the EPC and installer, this system serves the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians Reservation, about 20 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

default
1 Grand Canyon West web

Microgrid Project of the Year

Grand Canyon West Microgrid

This 884.5 kW fixed-tilt ground-mounted solar + 770 kW / 2.14 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) serves the Hualapai Tribe and provides electricity for Grand Canyon West operations, including the popular Grand Canyon Skywalk and other local attractions. The system also includes a microgrid controller and medium voltage grid stability equipment.

C&I Rooftop Project of the Year

Badia Spices Warehouse

Engineered and installed by SALT Energy, this self-financed solar project is the largest privately owned solar project in Florida as of August 2023. This gets bonus points for being located in Miami-Dade County, which has the most stringent engineering requirements for solar in the country due to hurricane wind loads.

Rooftop 2
default

Community Project of the Year

St. Albans Air Force Station

The St. Albans Air Force Station Solar Project in St. Albans, Vt., presented a host of logistical and contaminated property challenges, but Green Lantern Solar was able to complete the construction of a 500 kW community solar project on the complicated brownfield site. The system comprises a 1,700-panel ground-mount system that generates 892,000 kWh of clean energy annually.

Editor's Choice

Five more standout PV projects

Editor’s Choice Award winners were nominated for Project of the Year Awards, didn’t gain the most reader votes, but caught our collective editorial eye — for reasons ranging from impressive installation work and use of public sites to utility and grid-scale innovations that could be harbingers of big change down the road.

Editors choice Graphics 2023_01