The U.S. Department of Energy’s Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC) will take place May 16-18, 2022, in conjunction with the American Clean Power Association’s CLEANPOWER 2022 Conference & Exhibition in San Antonio, Texas.
The competition helps prepare college students for jobs in the wind-energy industry through real-world experience with wind-energy technology, project development, finance, communications, and outreach.
The CWC teams will compete in three contests that support the theme of siting, outreach, and development challenges associated with fixed-bottom offshore wind energy projects:
The Turbine Prototype Contest: Teams design and build an offshore wind turbine prototype to test in an on-site wind tunnel and sea simulation tank.
The Project Development Contest: Teams develop a site plan and cost-of-energy analysis for a hypothetical offshore wind farm.
The Connection Creation Contest: Teams partner with wind-energy industry professionals, raise awareness of wind energy in their local communities, and work with local media to promote their accomplishments.
“The signs point to a thriving future and thousands of job opportunities for offshore wind energy,” said Elise DeGeorge, a competition manager at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “As students confront the challenges of the 2022 CWC, they will develop the skills they will need to seize those opportunities and succeed in this growing industry.”
Twelve competing teams will represent their colleges and universities at the 2022 competition. Pennsylvania State University will defend its 2021 overall first place and Project Development Contest wins, while Kansas State University and Virginia Tech University will defend their respective Turbine Prototype Contest and Connection Creation Contest wins.
In addition to the 12 competitive teams, four teams will participate as “learn-along” teams, meaning they are not eligible for awards but may submit the same deliverables and receive feedback on submitted projects from competition judges.
