The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon ended Sunday Oct. 2, with the University of Maryland taking first place overall. The competition challenged teams from various colleges across the country to design and create working solar-powered houses.
The Decathlon, which took place in West Potomac Park on the National Mall from Sept. 23 to Oct. 2, evaluated the eco-friendly houses based on ten criteria, including architecture, engineering and affordability. Following Maryland, Purdue University and Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand won second and third place overall, respectively.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory organized the Decathlon, while the main sponsors were Applied Materials, British Petroleum, Pepco, and Schneider Electric. Teams also used donations from other companies to fund their projects.
Despite the cold weather, four members of the Green Team visited the Decathlon Oct. 1 to learn more about solar-powered technologies.
“The Decathlon is important because it shows us how enormously wasteful our society is,” said senior Sonia Max, who is Green Team president. “Each of the houses we saw was lovely and functional, as well as affordable and completely sustainable. If the American people and in particular Bethesda residents want to help the environment, they should stop indulging themselves in mega-mansions and instead build houses that are more practical and energy efficient, such as the ones on display at the Decathlon.”
