Intersolar North America Announces Line-Up for Solar Games Installer Competition

Intersolar North America, the first major solar + energy storage event of 2020, today announced the line-up for the first ever Solar Games installer competition, taking place on February 4, 2020 at the San Diego Convention Center.

Solar Games will kick off with two competitions on Tuesday, February 4 with the championship round taking place on Wednesday, February 5. The winner will take home a $5,000 cash prize. All installer teams will receive free training from Solar Energy International (SEI), prizes by JinkoSolar, safety gear, and complimentary #isna2021 conference passes. Teams from across the US, including Sullivan Solar Power, SunKey Energy, and Sol-Up USA will compete in the debut competition.

Held in the Solar Games stadium live on the #isna2020 expo hall floor, the competition will be emceed by SEI’s Roger Williams and Brian Mehalic. As teams compete side-by-side on two rooftops to build a residential solar + storage system, they will be judged on installation quality, safety, speed, and other criteria by the Institute for Building Technology and Safety’s Rudy Saporite.

“We wanted to create a dynamic, live event for the show floor that highlights a vital segment of our industry—installers—as well as the innovative solutions our exhibitors are bringing to the market,” said Wes Doane, Event Director of Intersolar North America. “Solar Games checks all those boxes.”

Intersolar North America was advised by North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP), ReVision Energy, the Institute of Building Technology and Safety, and Solar Energy International on different aspects of the Solar Games, from specifying and building the system to developing judging criteria.

Equipment will be provided by Solar Games sponsors Everest Solar Systems, JinkoSolar, Rolls Battery Engineering, AIMS Power, and Tesla. When the event concludes, the equipment providers will donate the systems to non-profit Twende Solar and provide solar power to a children's home in Peru (among other projects).

“There is so much opportunity for the industry to donate equipment that is cosmetically imperfect, last year’s model, or has been used for demo purposes and would be challenging to sell—but perfect for a community without reliable access to electricity,” said Marissa Johnson, Executive Director at Twende Solar. “As the industry comes together for #isna2020, it is a perfect time to remember that many of us joined the industry to help people and the planet.”

As less than one week remains until Intersolar North America kicks off with conference programming and workshops—including multiple NABCEP sessions with the potential for attendees to earn up to 9 CEUs—interested solar + energy storage professionals are encouraged to register today to secure their access.