This is an excerpt from the First Quarter 2013 edition of the Wind Program R&D Newsletter.

Washington, D.C.—In April, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced that 10 collegiate teams were selected to participate in its inaugural Collegiate Wind Competition that will take place in the spring of 2014. The student teams, selected through a competitive process include:

  • Boise State University
  • California Maritime Academy
  • Colorado School of Mines
  • James Madison University (VA)
  • Kansas State University
  • Northern Arizona University
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • University of Alaska Fairbanks
  • University of Kansas
  • University of Massachusetts Lowell

The Collegiate Wind Competition is a forum for undergraduate college students of multiple disciplines to investigate innovative wind energy concepts; gain experience designing, building, and testing a wind turbine to perform according to a customized market data-derived business plan; and increase their knowledge of wind industry barriers.

The theme of the inaugural competition is to design and construct a lightweight, transportable wind turbine that can be used to power small electronic devices. A principal contest involves testing each team's prototype wind turbine in a wind tunnel under specific conditions. Each team's business plan and turbine will also be evaluated against other pre-weighted criteria. The third event of the competition will be a team-to-team debate relating to current wind market drivers and issues. Teams will be judged on the members' understanding of the issues posed to them, their communication of potential solutions, and their ability to promote constructive dialogue.

In addition to national recognition, the turbine from the college or university with the best overall score will be placed on temporary display at the DOE headquarters building in Washington, D.C. The competition enables DOE to support innovative and forward-thinking educational institutions that incorporate renewable energy technologies, helping to foster the growth of the future wind energy industry and workforce.

For more information visit Collegiate Wind Competition.