The 2009 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon and the 2010 European Solar Decathlon—expanding the global reach of zero energy homes through collegiate competitions

Beginning with the first event in Washington, DC in 2002, the Department of Energy´s Solar Decathlon has brought attention to the promise of PV-powered, zero-energy homes through the format of a riveting collegiate competition. As an internationally recognized event, it demonstrates innovative solutions-using energy efficiently and generating the needs of modern domestic life with solar energy. At the 2007 event (the third Solar Decathlon), a new era of the competition was conceived, in which the U.S. Department of Energy´s event (produced and managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory) would be complemented by a European Solar Decathlon in Madrid, with each competition to be held in alternating years. Each of these upcoming events is described.