A1 Solar Scholarship Season 3: Solar Pitch

Do you have an idea that could change the future of solar energy? This spring, we’re calling on students across the U.S. to think big and pitch bold.

Pitch a product, campaign, or solution involving solar energy that would help reduce emissions or raise awareness about climate change in your generation. Whether it's a new tech idea, a creative outreach campaign, or a simple solution that could be scaled up — we want to hear your best pitch. Good luck!

How A1 Solar Scholarship works

The scholarship will support students whose major or academic focus is connected to solving environmental challenges or advancing clean energy. We’ll provide an award to the scholarship winners’ institutions as tuition after receiving proof of enrollment.

How to participate

Check if you are eligible

• A currently enrolled student attending an accredited college
• Your major or academic focus is connected to solving environmental challenges or advancing clean energy
• A cumulative 3.0 GPA/B average or equivalent

Sponsors and Partners

Setpile

Setpile is a platform for solar professionals. Based in the US, Setpile connects contractors and customers, helps to find a job or a project in the solar industry, get solar equipment quickly, and more.

Past scholarship seasons

Season 2

The second season of the A1 Solar Scholarship finished in March 2025. That season’s theme — Projects — brought in passionate and innovative essays from students across North America, all focused on how clean energy could help fight climate change.

526 applicants

47 states

300+ institutions

William Mar

Lake Travis High School student

Project: App for tracking water fountains

Aquify ATX began after I fell victim to dehydration and heatstroke, which led me to discover that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated and 75,000 plastic water bottles are discarded each minute. With the assistance of two friends, we built an app that crowdsources public water fountains throughout Austin and tracks users' hydration levels, serving both health and environment. In three months, we've kept 1,000 plastic bottles from the landfill, and 82% of our users say they're now using refillable bottles as a regular option.

Nicholas Anastasoff

Southern Maine Community College student

Project: Ocean monitoring platform

Manoj Nath Yogi

Howard University, Washington, DC

Project: AI in anaerobic digestion

Read A1 Scholarship Season 2 Report

Season 1

The first A1 Solar Scholarship started in October 2023 and concluded in March 2024. The participants were encouraged to write an essay answering the questions: “What’s your stance on climate change? Do you think it is going to impact your future? How do you envision your life and the life of your family in a world with climate change 30 years from now? How do you see yourself as an engineer contributing to solving the problem of climate change?”

273 applicants

41 states

100+ institutions

The winner of the A1 Solar Scholarship 23/24 is Michael Schoff from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. Michael is pursuing a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering with a focus on renewable energy and climate engineering. We transferred the $1,000 award to Dartmouth College in the form of tuition.

Michael Schoff

I am grateful to have received a scholarship from A1SolarStore to help fund my undergraduate education. I would like to use this platform to thank the company for their generosity and to highlight the good work that they are doing to mitigateclimate change.

Read A1 Scholarship Season 1 Report

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