Twelve teams participated in the Collegiate Wind Competition 2019 Technical Challenge, at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) Flatirons Campus on May 6–9, 2019. The teams completed several rounds of testing in the second-generation tunnel and adjusted their designs throughout the technical challenge.
Teams were tasked with developing:
- An effective mechanical, electrical, and aerodynamic wind turbine and load design that is safe and reliable for testing in an on-site wind tunnel.
- An electrical control system that can maintain a constant voltage into a competition-provided, variable-resistance load during the durability portion of the turbine testing.
- A cost of energy analysis for the site plan developed in 2018.
Final Results
Congratulations to the winners in each of the categories during the 2019 Collegiate Wind Competition Technical Challenge:
- First place overall: Penn State University
- Second place overall: Virginia Tech
- Third place overall: California State University Maritime Academy
- Turbine Testing Award: Penn State University
- Project Development Award: Iowa State University
- Technical Design Award: Penn State University
In addition to the competition, industry members presented their experiences and thoughts about the wind industry to inspire students.
Speakers included:
- Valerie Reed, acting director of the Wind Energy Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy
- Bob Thresher, research fellow, National Laboratory of the Rockies
- Brian Smith, laboratory program manager, Wind Energy, National Laboratory of the Rockies
- Eric Lustgarten, senior associate, Project Finance and M&A, Scout Clean Energy
- Matt Pagano, manager, Project Finance, Pivot Energy
- Connor Kobeski, project engineer, Invenergy
Collegiate Wind Competition 2019 Technical Challenge
In this video, students reflect on their experiences, summarize the competition, and display the unique skills they developed at the CWC 2019 Technical Challenge.