The Collegiate Wind Competition returns during WINDPOWER 2018

The bi-annual Collegiate Wind Competition, sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE), is back. Students from across the country will head to WINDPOWER 2018 in Chicago this May to test their skills and engineering know-how.

The potential designers of wind energy’s next big technological breakthrough will be in attendance, showcasing business plans, model wind turbines, and designing hypothetical utility-scale wind farms. A team of wind industry leaders will serve as judges for the event.

Here are the competition’s elements, according to DOE:

• Write and present a market research-supported business plan that shapes the design and development of the team’s technical product into a marketable wind power system.
• Design, build, and present a unique, wind-driven power system based on market research and test the wind turbine in an on-site wind tunnel.
• Design a hypothetical utility wind farm that maximizes energy production and balances environmental and community impacts.

This year’s competitors include teams from California State University, Chico; Pennsylvania State University; Iowa State University; Virginia Tech; California State University, Maritime; Texas Tech University; University of Wisconsin; Kansas State University; Seattle University; Northern Arizona University; Universidad del Turabo; and James Madison University.

For a preview of what to expect in Chicago, here’s a look of the most recent Collegiate Wind Competition, held at WINDPOWER 2016 in New Orleans: