Solar decathlon: collegiate challenge to build the future

A new collegiate competition, called the Solar Decathlon, is under way. Fourteen teams from colleges and universities across the United States, including Puerto Rico, will assemble on the National Mail in Washington, DC, in late September 2002. They will compete to capture, convert, store, and use enough solar energy to power small, solar-powered, energy-efficient homes that they have designed, built, and transported to the site. Solar Decathletes will be required to provide all the energy for an entire household, including a home-based business and the transportation needs of the household and business. During the event, only the solar energy available within the perimeter of each house may be used to generate the power needed to compete in the ten Solar Decathlon contests. The event is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and private-sector partners BP Solar, American Institute of Architects, Electronic Data Systems, and Home Depot.