Collegiate Wind Competition

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC) prepares students from multiple disciplines to enter the wind energy workforce by providing real-world wind technology and project development experience. Getting involved with the CWC furthers wind energy education and promotes careers in the wind industry to a new generation of students.

Learn more about participating:

What Does Participating in the Competition Involve?

Over the course of a school year, CWC teams work to design and build a model turbine, develop a wind project development plan, and conduct outreach with the wind industry, their local communities, and local media outlets. Teams present their turbine designs, project development plans and outreach activities, test their turbines, and participate in a siting challenge during the American CLEANPOWER conference, held in May or June when possible.

Why Participate?

CWC provides a unique opportunity for hands-on wind energy workforce training. There is a growing need for wind energy professionals in the United States, and this competition helps students develop the necessary skills and knowledge to find future work in this area and other STEM fields. The competition promotes job and networking opportunities for students, who are also invited to join a post-competition alumni group. 

NREL helps selected schools develop multidisciplinary wind energy programs and coursework. The highly publicized competition promotes schools’ strengths and offers the possibility for national recognition as the university with the strongest project development plan, technical design, turbine testing score, communications and outreach activities, and combined overall score.

Visit the resources page for more information.