Winners of Solar District Cup Class of 2024–2025 Announced

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18 Groups Earn Division Winner Titles for Photo voltaic and Photo voltaic-Plus-Storage Design Proposals

On April 21 and April 22, the division winners and Mission Pitch Champion within the Photo voltaic District Cup Collegiate Design Competitors’s Class of 2024–2025 had been introduced.

This 12 months’s competing class of groups is the most important in Photo voltaic District Cup historical past, beating final 12 months’s document. Thirty-eight groups competed in April. A complete of 18 student-led groups gained first-, second-, or third-place trophies throughout six divisions, with the addition of 5 honorable mentions and one Mission Pitch Champion.

Now in 12 months six of the U.S. Division of Power (DOE) competitors administered by the Nationwide Renewable Power Laboratory, the Photo voltaic District Cup challenges multidisciplinary scholar groups to develop photo voltaic and solar-plus-storage programs to provide mixed-use districts, or teams of buildings served by a standard electrical distribution feeder. The competitors engages college students throughout engineering, finance, city planning, power know-how, and different disciplines to reimagine how power is generated, managed, and utilized in a real-world district.

The competitors is designed to encourage college students to contemplate new profession alternatives, study industry-relevant abilities, interact with the skilled market, and put together to guide the following technology of power innovators.

On Saturday, April 19, college students introduced their photo voltaic power improvement proposals to their division friends and panels of {industry} judges, who offered scoring and educational suggestions to the scholar groups. On the next Monday, April 21, the highest groups in every division, plus 5 honorable mentions, had been introduced by management from the DOE Photo voltaic Power Applied sciences Workplace.

On April 22, the six division first-place groups had been invited to pitch their ideas to a brand new panel of judges, who chosen essentially the most compelling photo voltaic proposal as this 12 months’s Mission Pitch Champion.

The Photo voltaic District Cup Class of 2024–2025 division winners are as follows:

Convey-Your-Personal-District Use Case Division

• 1st Place: College of California, Merced
• 2nd Place: Manhattan College
• third Place: Cornell College
• Honorable Point out: The Cooper Union for the Development of Science and Artwork

Penn State Well being Use Case Division

• 1st Place: College of Pittsburgh
• 2nd Place: Santa Clara College
• third Place: Northwestern College
• Honorable Point out: Marshall College

Seattle Schools Use Case Division

• 1st Place: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical College
• 2nd Place: College of Utah
• third Place: New York Institute of Expertise, Vancouver
• Honorable Point out: North Carolina State College, Wolfpack Watts Workforce

State College of New York at Oneonta Use Case Division

• 1st Place: Appalachian State College
• 2nd Place: The College of Alabama
• third Place: Villanova College
• Honorable Point out: The School of New Jersey

The School of New Jersey Use Case Division

• 1st Place: Drexel College, Photo voltaic Dragons Workforce
• 2nd Place: North Carolina State College, Lion Pack Lumineers Workforce
• third Place: Northeastern College

College of Oregon Use Case Division

• 1st Place: The Pennsylvania State College
• 2nd Place: Columbia College
• third Place: California State College of Chico
• Honorable Point out: Tennessee State College

Mission Pitch Champion

After the announcement of prime groups in every division on April 21, the six first-place groups moved on to the following day’s Pitch Championship, the place they introduced condensed pitches to a four-judge panel of {industry} consultants, who determined the winner. The Photo voltaic Dragons group from Drexel College was chosen as Mission Pitch Champion for the Photo voltaic District Cup Class of 2024–2025.

In his remarks to the scholar rivals, Alejandro Moreno, affiliate principal deputy assistant secretary for the Workplace of Power Effectivity and Renewable Power at DOE, mentioned, “I know the skills you’ve learned through the Solar District Cup will serve you well regardless of the career path you choose—but I hope you’ll consider a career in the energy sector. You can be an integral part of advancing the energy economy, where your skills will be in demand for years to come. You are needed!”

Throughout the competitors, college students obtain entry to academic assets and instruments offered by partnering organizations Aurora Photo voltaic, RE+ Occasions, and CapIron Inc. These companions present advantages over the course of the competitors, together with design and evaluation software program instruments, networking alternatives with {industry} professionals, and instruction. District use case companions Penn State Well being, Seattle Schools, State College of New York at Oneonta, The School of New Jersey, College of Oregon, and people companions who labored with college students to outline their very own districts shared precious information with college students to design their initiatives. The collective help of those organizations is crucial to college students’ success within the competitors and of their profession improvement.

And a particular thanks goes out to the seven panels of {industry} judges and the numerous {industry} professionals who provided their time as mentors to the scholar groups on this competitors!

Congratulations to all the scholars who competed within the Class of 2024–2025! Observe the Solar District Cup HeroX page for updates about future alternatives.

Be taught extra in regards to the Solar District Cup. Information launch from NREL.