Every other year, the U.S. Energy Department holds a solar
decathlon for teams from various universities around the world.
The winning team receives a $100,000 grant over two years.
A Contest of a Different Sort
The solar decathlon is an interesting strategy for promoting
research and development on solar technology by the Energy
Department. The Department selects 20 teams from a bevy of
applicants to take part.
To win the competition, the teams are given the goal of creating
and manufacturing a home that runs completely on solar power.
The home must function as a residence as well as a home-based
business and all typical transportation needs typically found
with a residential home. The teams are not only required to
design and build the home, but they must construct the homes on
the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for all to see. The most
energy efficient home wins the competition and the university is
awarded $100,000 for research and development of solar
technologies.
In 2005, the University of Colorado was the winner of the
competition with Cornell and Cal Poly finishing second and
third. It was the second win in a row for Colorado over such
schools as MIT and Cal Poly. The teams for the 2007 competition
have been selected and are currently working on their projects:
California Polytechnic State University
Carnegie Mellon University
Cornell University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Kansas State University
Lawrence Technological University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
New York Institute of Technology
Team Montreal
Technische Universität Darmstadt,
Texas A&M University
Pennsylvania State University
Universidad de Puerto Rico
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
University of Cincinnati
University of Colorado
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Maryland
University of Missouri-Rolla,
University of Texas at Austin
The teams are due to build their homes on the National Mall on
October 7, 2007. With the new interest of the Bush
Administration in solar power, perhaps the contest will get a
Presidential visit.
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