As the U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition 2016 draws another week closer and the teams make their final preparations for travel, we have four more teams to spotlight participating in the competition this year in New Orleans, Louisiana. This week, meet the teams from Northern Arizona University, The Pennsylvania State University, Universidad del Turabo, and University of Alaska Fairbanks.

From the frigid north of Alaska to the tropical island of Puerto Rico, this year's competition shows that wind energy can be found all over the globe.

Northern Arizona University

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With a team divided fairly evenly between business and engineering students, Team NAU has a balanced approach going into the competition. Early on, the team made the decision to market their wind turbine to the telecommunications industry as a supplement to traditional energy suppliers, with a secondary market aimed at rural electrification through microgrids. Thus, their wind turbine is developed for deployment in multiple remote, off-grid applications that will serve communities and individuals with their unique electricity and communications needs.

The Pennsylvania State University

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The former Collegiate Wind Competition 2014 Champions will return this year to defend their title as both overall champions and People's Choice winners. Through their company, Winergize, the team's primary goal is to provide off-grid, sustainable energy solutions through the use of wind energy. To achieve this goal, the team is building a small-scale wind turbine that can be easily deployed to provide power in very specific off-grid scenarios.

“I have always had a passion for renewable energy and engineering. This competition allows for me to challenge my knowledge of both areas. Developing new technology and engineering [the] energy of the future is intriguing and challenging,” explained Mitchell Proulx, a junior Mechanical Engineering major and the team's engineering co-lead.

Universidad del Turabo

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Hailing from the island of Puerto Rico, the Juracán Energy Team (JET) tackles a problem very close to home. Puerto Rico has been experiencing an energy crisis for some time. The cost of energy for residential consumers has been as high as $0.31 per kilowatt hour in recent years. From the beginning of the competition, JET established that the team would pursue a wind energy application relevant to Puerto Rico.

With that in mind, the team concentrates on implementing a vertical axis wind turbine for public lighting applications that can be installed on top of light poles to harness wind energy and disconnect the lighting system from the grid.

University of Alaska Fairbanks

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The Arctic Winds contend with an environment drastically different from the warm tropics of their competitor. Though the team may be small, each member brings with them some excellent experience, whether from other competitions such as NASA's Robotic Mining Competition, FIRST Tech Challenge, and the Collegiate Wind Competition 2014, or time spent working in the oil industry.

Similarly to Puerto Rico's JETs, the Arctic Winds decided to focus on solving energy problems in their own backyard and developed a small, reliable wind turbine for emergency or backup power situations. With a comprehensive technical background, the team is confident that their design will excel in the design and testing areas of the competition.

The race for the Collegiate Wind Competition championship (and for the winning design to be displayed at U.S. Department of Energy headquarters in Washington, D.C.) is heating up! To catch-up on competition information, read about the first set of teams, get the schedule for public pitches and tunnel testing, and find out about the challenges each team faces.