Thoughts on Solar

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced the list of 20 teams that will compete at the 2015 Solar Decathlon to be held at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine. The 20 student teams selected include eight returning teams and 12 new teams (teams in last year’s competition are highlighted):

• California Polytechnic State University
• California State University, Sacramento
• Clemson University
• Crowder College and Drury University
• Lansing Community College and Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University
• Missouri University of Science and Technology
• New York City College of Technology
• Oregon Institute of Technology and Portland State University
• Stanford University
• State University of New York at Alfred College of Technology and Alfred University
• Stevens Institute of Technology
• University of Florida, National University of Singapore, and Santa Fe College
• The University of Texas at Austin and Technische Universitaet Muenchen
• University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
• University of California, Davis
• University of California, Irvine; Saddleback College; Chapman University; and Irvine Valley College
• Vanderbilt University and Middle Tennessee State University
• West Virginia University and University of Roma Tor Vergata
• Western New England University, Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, and Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana
• Yale University

Of all the teams on that list, it is most gratifying to see West Virginia University included as they were forced out of the competition last year at the very last minute due to financial constraints.  It is good to know that their hard work will finally get its moment in the sun.

Interestingly, neither Caltech nor Team USC is on the list.  We understand that USC decided to pass on the 2015 competition to plan for the 2017 event.  Given the enormous amount of work that it takes to field a successful entry, that approach makes a great deal of sense.  Also missing from the event are any of the top three finishing teams: Team Austria, UNLV and the Czech Republic.  Hopefully we will see their energy and innovation in a future contest.

Last year was the first year the competition was held outside of Washington, D.C. and, not coincidentally we suspect, it was the first year that every team’s house produced more energy than it consumed. We are eager to see what new records these teams will be able to set next year.  Best of luck to all.