Wind Energy Student Organization
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
Faculty Advisor
Sri Sritharan
Student Lead
Isaac Twedt-Ball
What is your team name, institution name, city, and state?
We are the Wind Energy Student Organization, and we represent Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
Who are your faculty advisor and student lead?
Our faculty advisor is Sri Sritharan, and our student lead is Isaac Twedt-Ball.
The Wind Energy Student Organization at Iowa State University includes (from left to right) in the back row: Ajay Kotam, Simon Hoefing, Simon Ball, Isaac Twedt-Ball, Craig Bracke, Noah Gerken, and Connor Farrell; and in the front row: Quentin Kennedy, Rachel Everly, Brittney Cuevas, Drew Jensen, Simran Patel, Anders Peterson, and Brennen Becker.
Why is your team participating in the Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC)?
With Iowa being a leader in wind energy, we’re excited to participate in the CWC to gain the skills and experience needed to join the workforce and continue the growth of wind energy in Iowa.
What is your vision for a clean energy future?
Our vision for a clean energy future consists of a combination of wind energy, solar power, and battery storage, generating carbon-free energy. These resources would be distributed through a patchwork of community microgrids to ensure a resilient energy infrastructure.
Describe your project, objectives, and game plan.
Our team consists of three subteams, each working on their relevant portion of the competition. Going forward, we anticipate building and testing our turbine, thorough reviews of our wind farm, and engagement with our local schools and media.
What makes you most excited about participating in the CWC?
Our goal is to set up a sustainable organization on campus that gives students who want to build and model systems the opportunity to do so while gaining the skills required to work in the wind energy industry. This organization will continue to offer these exciting opportunities for students long into the future.
Who has your team connected with in the wind industry? What lessons have you learned from them, and how can your team apply those lessons to the competition?
Our team had the amazing opportunity to meet with Steven Dayney of Siemens Gamesa, a leader in the wind energy industry. As the head of offshore wind energy at the company, Dayney has insights on the resources needed to kick-start the offshore wind energy industry in the United States, which help us further believe in the potential of utility-scale offshore wind energy. He also emphasized the power of overcommunication, a lesson that has helped our team members stay on the same page and, therefore, complete necessary tasks more easily.
This content was submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy by the team. Find more information on CWC 2023.