The SDE19 Call for Cities was published on January 31, 2017. Any queries about the Call should be sent to: questions@energyendeavour.org. They will be answered within 24 hours and published on this page as well as in the pdf at the end of the page.
NOTE: April 24, 2017:
Admissions for the Solar Decathlon Europe 2019 Call for Cities are now closed. The Energy Endeavour Foundation congratulates the Hungarian city of Szentendre as designated city to host the upcoming
Solar Decathlon Europe 2019 (SDE19). Find the official announcement here:
https://solardecathlon.eu/congrats-szentendrehost-city-sde19gratulalok/
NOTE: February 18, 2017:
After careful consideration regarding timetable concerns expressed by interested cities, the SDE will extend the deadline for Full Application. Full Applications are now due at
14:00 CET on March 20th, 2017.
Letters of intent are due, as planned, on February 24, 2017.
All other details in the Call for Cities are maintained as originally published. Questions regarding the Call for Cities and the extension can be sent to: questions@energyendeavour.org
- Will you accept applications from Switzerland?
Answer: Yes. Although Switzerland is not a member of the European Union or the EEA, its bilateral agreements that allow for the free movement of goods and citizens make it, for the purposes of this call, a member of Europe.
Answered: 02.02.17 - Are the rules of 2014 in revision, or will they be used in a similar way? Would the organizers be allowed to revise the rules of 2014 (I remember contradictions and unclear structures)?
Answer: Yes. The organisers are expected to revise the rules to reflect local issues and the evolution of the Solar Decathlon competition worldwide. See Section 3.1.5 ii on Page 33 and Section 4.1 on Page 39.
Answered: 02.02.17 - Is it neccessary to hire previous SDE staff?
Answer: No. We strongly recommend seeking the expertise from previous events, but it is not necessary to hire anyone from previous SDE organisations.
Answered 02.02.17 - Is it possible to keep some of the houses on site?
Answer: Yes. The Host City is free to set terms for the length of the competition or the presence of the houses. It is also possible for the Host City (or others) to acquire the houses during or after the competition. These condidtions should be made clear in the Host City bid and then in the Rules for the SDE 2019.
Answered 12.02.17 - Is it possible to charge admission to the Solar Village?
Answer: Yes. However: in the past, all Solar Decathlon events have been free of charge in order to attract as large an audience as possible. A small admission fee will likely hinder more attendence than it will raise revenue and so we recommend to not charge admission.
Answered 12.02.17 - Is the timetable set? – it seems to be a tight schedule.
Answer:Yes. The timetable was set with the US Call for Cities 2015
as a template.
Answered on the Webinar call, February 15, 2017
New Answer: No. After careful consideration regarding timetable concerns expressed by interested cities, the SDE Secretariat will extend the deadline for Full Application.
NOTE: Full Applications are now due at 14:00 CET on March 20th, 2017. Letters of intent are due, as planned, on February 24, 2017. - Is the SDE set for 2019? Is 2018 a possibility?
Answer: Yes to 2019, No to 2018. The Call for Cities will be followed by a Call for Teams which means Teams would have a little more than a year to design, build and assemble their houses. We see this as unrealistic. Furthermore, in 2018 there will be SD events in Dubai, UAE, Cali, Colombia and Dezhou, China. A fourth event will be difficult to organise. In 2019 we will then have an event in Denver, USA, Morrocco and a European city.
Answered on the Webinar call, February 15, 2017 - Is the budget of 10 million Euros a requirement?
Answer: No. In the Call for Cities Annex 2: (Excel spreadsheet), a typical budget based on the three previous events is given as a sample. Local costs for labour, site preparation and in-kind contributions will alter the budget needed for a successful SDE competition.
Answered on the Webinar call, February 15, 2017 - Does the Prime Applicant have to be a specific type of organisation?
Answer: No. The Prime Applicant can be a city or a separate legal entity – a limited company or non-profit. See Section 1.16
Answered on the Webinar call, February 15, 2017 - Is the Project Team the individuals or the organisations?
Answer: Individuals. The Project Team should identify who is designated to run the SDE 2019.
See Section 2.3
Answered on the Webinar call, February 15, 2017 - Will the EEF help will fundraising?
Answer: No. The EEF will help where possible, but fundraising is part of the mandate of the Host City. The EEF is established to guide & oversee the Solar Decathlon brand in Europe, extending the values, calibre, mandate & vision of the US Department of Energy’s original Solar Decathlon. It will identify outreach events, publications, representations requiring articles & reports for the SDE website, maintain a consistent editorial message & tone, deploy SDE values (intrepid, ingenious, responsible), solicit editorial contributions, direct parallel copywriting initiatives for SDE web portal, social media & other publications. Through these activities, the EEF will assist in fundraising opportunities as far as is possible. Answered on the Webinar call, February 15, 2017 - What are the dates for the 2019 US Solar Decathlon?
Answer: Unknown. We can expect that the dates will be similar to the dates for 2017 in Denver, Colorado – currently published as October 5-15th, 2017.
Answered on the Webinar call, February 15, 2017 - Does this mean there will be a SDE event in 2021? When will the Call for Cities come out for that event?
Answer: Likely. The goal of the SDE Secretariat is to restart the two-year cycle of events in Europe. We are committed to lengthening the lead time to events and so a Call for Cities for a 2021 event could take place in 2018.
Answered on the Webinar call, February 15, 2017 - Is there a page limit for the letter of intent?
Answer: No.
The contents of the letter are described in Section 2.3 of the Call for Cities
Answered on February 17, 2017 - Does the letter of intent have to include the control number on the top right corner of every page or just the full application?
Answer: Yes, both. Refer to Section 2.1 item iv.
Answered on February 17, 2017 - Who has to request the control number by e-mail from the application@energyendeavour.com (project leader or anyone from the lead applicants organisation) and what should this e-mail include?
Answer: Ideally, the Lead Person. A single control number will be given to each team by return email to the sender’s email address. The email should name the Lead Person for the Prime Applicant as well as contact information (in order to return an email with the control number).
Answered on February 17, 2017 - What is the difference between project team and list of members?
Answer: The Project Team is the individual people on the team. The list of members is the list of legal entities (city, limited companies, non-profits, etc.) that make up the consortium.
Answered on February 20, 2017 - When and how do the applicants have to pay the application fee?
Answer: The deadline for payment is anytime BEFORE the application deadline, which is at 14:00 CET 20.03.2017. The funds are to be transferred to:
Stichting Energy Endeavour
Address: Coolhaven 106B 3024 AJ Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Bank account: 547070179
BIC/SWIFT: ABNANL2A
IBAN: NL54ABNA0547070179
Ch. of Commerce number: 67613446
VAT: Not liable to VAT
Note: Please include your Control Number and
“SDE2019 Call for Cities Application Fee”.
Answered on March 14, 2017 - Regarding the CVs of the team members, does every team member have to write one page or can the CVs be all on one page together?
Answer: The CVs of team members can be one per page or put together on one or more pages. As they do not count in the total page numbers, it is left to the Applicant to decide.
Answered on March 14, 2017 - Is any information about the jury available?
Answer: The article about the Jury Members and testimonials about the SDE can be found here: https://solardecathlon.eu/jury-set-for-sde19-host-city-applications/
Answered on March 14, 2017
The list of Questions is also available as a pdf here: sde_2019_call-cities_questions