Student teams named as finalists in DOE solar design competition
The U.S. Department of Energy announced that 35 teams advanced as finalists in its Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition for 2021-2022.
Through the contest, teams design systems that integrate solar, storage, and other technologies for a real-world district or university campus. Teams design their systems based on their chosen entity’s sustainability goals, electric utility rate schedule, development master plan or other relevant information. The three districts for this year’s contest are Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and The Ohio State University.
The finalists are advancing from an initial group of 65 teams from 64 universities.
In November, participants submitted designs and summaries of their proposed systems. Projects were evaluated based on their potential to maximize the district’s energy offset and financial savings while factoring aesthetic, infrastructure, and community considerations.
Teams now will describe their final proposed systems, layout, financial analysis, and other details, which will be submitted in mid-April. The teams then will present their concepts to industry judges at a virtual event in late April. Winning teams, as well as second and third place finishers, will be selected from each division. The first-place division winners will then present their projects again, this time to a public audience that votes to determine the winner.
“Inspiring students to join the clean energy workforce is critical to achieving our nation’s climate goals over the next several years,” said Garrett Nilsen, acting director of DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office. “The students who are advancing as finalists in the Solar District Cup are proving that our future workforce is on a strong and promising path. I’m eager to see how their designs evolve over the next few months as they prepare for the final competition event.”
The advancing teams represent 39 schools, including:
Alfred University
Ana G. Méndez University, Gurabo Campus
Appalachian State University
Arizona State University
Boise State University
Broward College
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Columbia University
Creighton University
Drexel University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Illinois State University
Miami University
Michigan State University
NC State University
Northeast Lakeview College
Ohio Northern University
Oregon State University-Cascades
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
San Antonio College
Santa Clara University
Southern Illinois University
Stony Brook University
Tennessee State University
Texas A&M University
Texas Southern University
The Ohio State University
The University of Arizona
The University of Minnesota Duluth
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities
The University of Texas at Dallas
The University of Texas at San Antonio
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Denver
University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus
University of Wisconsin-Madison