On Sunday, April 26, the Solar District Cup 2020 competition event was conducted. Through live video conference, 26 competing teams presented to a panel of judges in one of three district use case divisions. Each team had 15 minutes to present, followed by 10 minutes of questions from the judges. Afterward, the judges deliberated to select the third-, second-, and first-place winners in each division. The judges were uniformly impressed by the caliber of solutions presented by all the competing teams.
On Monday, April 27, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the winners on a live video conference event. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Power, David Solan spoke on how the Solar District Cup addresses Energy Department goals related to growing the solar energy workforce before unveiling the following winners.
Crystal Parks district use case division:
1st Place: Dartmouth College
2nd Place: Colorado School of Mines
3rd Place: Cornell University
New Mexico State University district use case division:
1st Place: University of Cincinnati
2nd Place: West Virginia University
3rd Place: University of Colorado Boulder
Ball State University district use case division:
1st Place: Florida International University
2nd Place: New Mexico State University
3rd Place: Creighton University
Later that day, the three first-place teams gave 8-minute presentations to an audience of peers and industry professionals. The video conference attendees then voted on their favorite team to win the Industry Choice Award. After voting concluded, DOE’s Director of the Solar Energy Technologies Office, Dr. Becca Jones-Albertus, announced University of Cincinnati as the Solar District Cup 2020 Industry Choice winner.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the inaugural year of the Solar District Cup, and congratulations!
