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18 Teams Earn Division Winner Titles for Solar and Solar-Plus-Storage Design Proposals
On April 21 and April 22, the division winners and Project Pitch Champion in the Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition’s Class of 2024–2025 were announced.
This year’s competing class of teams is the largest in Solar District Cup history, beating last year’s record. Thirty-eight teams competed in April. A total of 18 student-led teams won first-, second-, or third-place trophies across six divisions, with the addition of five honorable mentions and one Project Pitch Champion.
Now in year six of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) competition administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Solar District Cup challenges multidisciplinary student teams to develop solar and solar-plus-storage systems to supply mixed-use districts, or groups of buildings served by a common electrical distribution feeder. The competition engages students across engineering, finance, urban planning, energy technology, and other disciplines to reimagine how energy is generated, managed, and used in a real-world district.
The competition is designed to inspire students to consider new career opportunities, learn industry-relevant skills, engage with the professional marketplace, and prepare to lead the next generation of energy innovators.
On Saturday, April 19, students presented their solar energy development proposals to their division peers and panels of industry judges, who provided scoring and instructional feedback to the student teams. On the following Monday, April 21, the top teams in each division, plus five honorable mentions, were announced by leadership from the DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office.
On April 22, the six division first-place teams were invited to pitch their concepts to a new panel of judges, who selected the most compelling solar proposal as this year’s Project Pitch Champion.
The Solar District Cup Class of 2024–2025 division winners are as follows:
Bring-Your-Own-District Use Case Division
- 1st Place: University of California, Merced
- 2nd Place: Manhattan University
- 3rd Place: Cornell University
- Honorable Mention: The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Penn State Health Use Case Division
- 1st Place: University of Pittsburgh
- 2nd Place: Santa Clara University
- 3rd Place: Northwestern University
- Honorable Mention: Marshall University
Seattle Colleges Use Case Division
- 1st Place: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
- 2nd Place: University of Utah
- 3rd Place: New York Institute of Technology, Vancouver
- Honorable Mention: North Carolina State University, Wolfpack Watts Team
State University of New York at Oneonta Use Case Division
- 1st Place: Appalachian State University
- 2nd Place: The University of Alabama
- 3rd Place: Villanova University
- Honorable Mention: The College of New Jersey
The College of New Jersey Use Case Division
- 1st Place: Drexel University, Solar Dragons Team
- 2nd Place: North Carolina State University, Lion Pack Lumineers Team
- 3rd Place: Northeastern University
University of Oregon Use Case Division
- 1st Place: The Pennsylvania State University
- 2nd Place: Columbia University
- 3rd Place: California State University of Chico
- Honorable Mention: Tennessee State University
Project Pitch Champion
After the announcement of top teams in each division on April 21, the six first-place teams moved on to the next day’s Pitch Championship, where they presented condensed pitches to a four-judge panel of industry experts, who decided the winner. The Solar Dragons team from Drexel University was chosen as Project Pitch Champion for the Solar District Cup Class of 2024–2025.
In his remarks to the student competitors, Alejandro Moreno, associate principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at DOE, said, “I know the skills you’ve learned through the Solar District Cup will serve you well regardless of the career path you choose—but I hope you’ll consider a career in the energy sector. You can be an integral part of advancing the energy economy, where your skills will be in demand for years to come. You are needed!”
During the competition, students receive access to educational resources and tools provided by partnering organizations Aurora Solar, RE+ Events, and CapIron Inc. These partners provide benefits over the course of the competition, including design and analysis software tools, networking opportunities with industry professionals, and instruction. District use case partners Penn State Health, Seattle Colleges, State University of New York at Oneonta, The College of New Jersey, University of Oregon, and those partners who worked with students to define their own districts shared valuable data with students to design their projects. The collective support of these organizations is essential to students’ success in the competition and in their career development.
And a special thank you goes out to the seven panels of industry judges and the many industry professionals who offered their time as mentors to the student teams in this competition!
Congratulations to all the students who competed in the Class of 2024–2025! Follow the Solar District Cup HeroX page for updates about future opportunities.
Learn more about the Solar District Cup. News release from NREL.
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