Laura Timberlake
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon has announced the launch of the 2022 Design Challenge and 2023 Build Challenge.
The Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition that challenges student teams to design and build highly efficient and innovative buildings powered by renewable energy. The Design Challenge is a one or two semester, design-only competition; while the Build Challenge is a two-year design-build competition.
The 2022 Design Challenge encourages teams to develop zero energy residential and commercial designs while working with design partners to address real-world needs. Student teams will present their projects to jurors in 2022 in Colorado, USA.
The 2023 Build Challenge is a two-year design-build competition in which collegiate teams construct zero energy homes in their own communities. After presenting their preliminary designs and progress, finalist teams will be selected at the 2022 event. Finalists will then go back to their communities to build their homes, undertake required measurements, and ultimately compete in a juried event in 2023.
Australia scored very well in the 2018 Challenge, with Team Desert Rose from the University of Wollongong finishing second in the Solar Decathlon Middle East. The team built its house in just two weeks, and came first in the comfort conditions contest and in the Innovation contest.
Solar Decathlon aims to tackle climate challenges while creating jobs to build a modern, sustainable infrastructure and to deliver an equitable clean energy future.
Team registrations for both challenges will open in July 2021. More information is available here.
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