Collegiate Wind Competition 2016 Photos

1/28 First place celebration.
Students from The Pennsylvania State University happily carry their first place trophy off stage. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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Date taken: 2016-06-01 19:02
2/28 Collegiate Wind Competition 2016 Trophies.
The prize table holding all of the trophies to be awarded at the Collegiate Wind Competition 2016. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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Date taken: 2016-06-01 19:00
3/28 Preparing wind turbines for practice tests.
Students from the Universidad del Turabo in Puerto Rico prep their wind turbine for its first practice test in the wind tunnel. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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Date taken: 2016-06-01 19:02
4/28 Private presentation of engineering and business design of a wind turbine.
A student from the California Maritime Academy presents the technical details of their wind turbine to a panel of judges in a private presentation. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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5/28 Preparing the turbine for testing.
Students from the University of Alaska Fairbanks begin preparing their wind turbine for wind tunnel testing. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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6/28 Jose Zayas with Collegiate Wind Competition participants.
Director for the Wind and Water Power Technologies Office, Jose Zayas, talks with students from the University of Massachusetts Amherst about their wind turbine. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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Date taken: 2016-06-01 19:02
7/28 Turbine testing wind tunnel on display.
One of the wind tunnels used for testing students' wind turbine prototypes. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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8/28 MacGyver Challenge collaboration.
A team comprised of students from the Collegiate Wind Competition and KidWind work together to build a wind turbine from a box of provided materials. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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Date taken: 2016-06-01 19:02
9/28 Judging the private presentations.
Judge Drew Eisenberg listens intently to the student presentations in a private session. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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10/28 Students show their turbine to judges.
Students from The Pennsylvania State University show their turbine design to judges Charles Newcomb and Patrick Gilman. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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11/28 Wind tunnel testing judges.
Engineers Jason Roadman and Heidi Tinnesand served as the judges for testing performed in the wind tunnels. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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12/28 Inspecting the connections.
Students look closely at the wiring and electrical components of their wind turbine before it's tunnel testing. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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13/28 Watching turbine testing.
A student and adviser from the California State University, Chico look at the results from their wind turbine test. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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14/28 Student bull pens.
Students from The Pennsylvania State University sit at their bull pen surrounded by electrical components and college branding. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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15/28 Testing the electrical load.
Students from University of Massachusetts Amherst test their electrical load at their bull pen. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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16/28 Demonstrating a wind turbine.
Students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison explain the functionality of their wind turbine to visitors. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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17/28 Private business and design presentations.
Students from the University of Massachusetts Lowell present their business plans and technical engineering designs in a closed door meeting with a panel of judges. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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Date taken: 2016-06-01 19:01
18/28 An interior view of the wind tunnel.
A view of a team's wind turbine from within the wind tunnel. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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19/28 Birdseye view of the wind tunnel.
Students from the Universidad del Turabo installing their wind turbine in the testing tunnel. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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20/28 Posing with a wind turbine.
Students taking a photo of their wind turbine prototype. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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Date taken: 2016-06-01 19:01
21/28 Making adjustments to a wind turbine.
Two students from the University of Maryland make adjustments to their shrouded wind turbine. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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Date taken: 2016-06-01 19:01
22/28 Inspiring words from industry.
Engineering Department Manager, John Amos from Siemens Wind Power after his inspirational message to students at the Collegiate Wind Competition. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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Date taken: 2016-06-01 19:00
23/28 Watching the tunnel testing results.
Students gather around the testing tunnel display to see the results of the tunnel testing. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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Date taken: 2016-06-01 19:01
24/28 Preparing a wind turbine for testing.
Students from Northern Arizona State University in front of all of their components for wind tunnel testing. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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Date taken: 2016-06-01 19:01
25/28 Public pitches at AWEA WINDPOWER.
Students from The Pennsylvania State University giving their public pitch at the Tech Station Theater on the American Wind Energy Association WINDPOWER's show floor. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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26/28 Explaining a business plan to the judges.
Two students from California State University, Chico explain some aspects of their business plan to a panel of judges. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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Date taken: 2016-06-01 19:00
27/28 Jose Zayas receives award.
Students from Northern Arizona State University presented Jose Zayas with a plaque thanking him and the U.S. Department of Energy for their support. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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28/28 Second place excitement.
A student from the University of Massachusetts Lowell happily shows off his team's second place trophy. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
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Date taken: 2016-06-01 19:01

Twelve collegiate teams from around the United States took part in the U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition 2016, which was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, with more than 150 students across the country worked to design, test, and build a lightweight, transportable wind turbine that could be used to power small electronic devices. 

Final Results

Over the course of 2 days at the American Wind Energy Association's WINDPOWER, the teams put their wind turbines through rigorous performance testing, developed carefully-crafted business plans, and pitched wind industry leaders on the market opportunities for their turbine designs. The Pennsylvania State University earned the highest cumulative score to become the overall winner for the second consecutive competition. The team's winning turbine received the honor of being displayed at Energy Department headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Rounding out the top three finishers were the University of Massachusetts Lowell, in second place, and Boise State University, in third. In addition, the following schools were recognized as top finishers in the following categories:

In addition to the competition, a number of industry members presented their experiences and thoughts about the wind industry over the course of 2 days. Speakers included:

  • Jose Zayas, Director of Wind and Water Power Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy
  • John Kostyack, Executive Director, Wind Energy Foundation
  • Anne McEntee, President & CEO of Onshore Wind, GE Renewable Energy
  • Marguerite Wells, Project Manager and Vice President Black Oak Wind Farm; New York Developer for Invenergy
  • Gerard Schepers, Senior Researcher and Project Manager, Energy Research Center of the Netherlands, Professor of Wind Energy, University of Applied Sciences NHL Leeuwarden
  • Jeremy Wacker and Jason Widman, Directors of Wind, Blattner Energy
  • Matt Hadsell, Senior Power Systems Engineer, Blattner Energy
  • John Amos, Engineering Department Manager, Siemens Wind Power
  • Tom Kiernan, Chief Executive Officer, American Wind Energy Association

2016 Event Sponsors

The U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition is grateful for the generosity of the 2016 sponsors to support a successful event and a positive experience for teams. Thank you to our 2016 sponsors!

The recognition of sponsor organizations does not constitute or imply any endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation of their messages, missions, activities, products, or programs. The U.S. Department of Energy does not monitor, control, or directly fund the activities of the identified organizations.