Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the 30 colleges and universities selected to participate in Phase 1 of the 2023 Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC). These teams will participate in the CWC during the first half of the 2022-2023 school year.

The CWC, which first launched in 2014, helps prepare the future wind energy workforce by inviting college students from a range of disciplines to represent their schools as they design, build, and test a prototype wind turbine; develop a site plan and cost-of-energy analysis for a hypothetical wind farm; and conduct outreach with the wind energy industry, their communities, and local media outlets.

Similar to the 2022 CWC, the 2023 CWC will focus on the theme of siting, outreach, and development challenges associated with fixed-bottom offshore wind energy projects. During Phase 1, teams will develop a preliminary design and report for their prototype wind turbine and a preliminary site design for their hypothetical offshore wind farm. They will also interview professionals from different wind industry sectors to learn about career opportunities and create outreach materials to educate and inspire younger students. Phase 1 teams will be eligible for up to $5,000 in funding, which they can use to design their technologies, create their wind energy project development plans, and conduct their outreach activities.

The colleges and universities selected to participate in Phase 1 of the 2023 Collegiate Wind Competition are:

• Brigham Young University
• California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
• California State University Maritime Academy
• California State University San Marcos
• Iowa State University
• James Madison University
• John Hopkins University
• Kansas State University
• Manhattan College
• Massachusetts Maritime Academy
• Northern Arizona University
• Oklahoma State University
• Rice University
• Rutgers University
• Texas A&M University, College Station
• Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi (with Transilvania University of Brasov)
• Texas Tech University (with South Plains Community College)
• The Pennsylvania State University
• Universidad Ana G. Mendez
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of Colorado Boulder
• University of Delaware
• University of Massachusetts Lowell
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• University of Oklahoma
• University of Texas at Dallas
• University of Wisconsin–Madison
• University of Wyoming
• Virginia Tech University
• Washington State University Everett (with Everett Community College).

Among these 2023 CWC participants are two community colleges—South Plains Community College and Everett Community College—as well as two international schools—the University of Malta and Transilvania University of Brasov. In addition, 12 minority-serving institutions are participating in Phase 1, including eight Hispanic-Serving Institutions and six Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions. Two of the participating schools, Rutgers University and University of Texas at Dallas, are designated under both the Hispanic-Serving Institution and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution categories.

By early 2023, the competition organizers will use a performance-based selection process to narrow the Phase 1 teams to up to 12 final selections. These teams will be invited to participate in Phase 2 of the CWC during the second half of the school year and to present their work at the CWC event at the American Clean Power Association’s CLEANPOWER Conference & Exhibition in May 2023.

The CWC is funded by EERE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office and managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

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