Finalists Announced in 2010 Green Energy Challenge Student Competition

Student teams from the University of Washington, Milwaukee School of Engineering, and Youngstown State University will be competing for the top prize in the 2010 Green Energy Challenge student design competition sponsored by ELECTRI International – The Foundation for Electrical Construction and NECA. The three finalists will present their entries at NECA’s annual convention in Boston, on Saturday, Oct. 2, at the Boston Convention and Expo Center.  

The University of Washington won the 2009 Green Energy Challenge; both Milwaukee and Youngstown State are first-time participants in the student competition.

The finalists were selected following the first round of judging from 13 entries from NECA student chapters around the country. A complete listing of project proposals will be available after the winning project is announced in October.

The Green Energy Challenge invited teams of students studying electrical construction, engineering, design and management to conduct an energy audit of a commercial or institutional facility in need of energy-efficiency improvements. Based on their energy audit findings of the building’s power and lighting systems, teams then submitted a preliminary design of an energy retrofit that could include alternative energy sources, like solar PV panels or wind turbines.

Finalists were selected by a volunteer team of 13 NECA member contractors was then sent to a review team drawn from the 13 volunteer judges. Each juror reviewed one project, analyzing and scoring the entries on a variety of factors including lighting retrofit, energy use analysis, PV system design, schematic estimate, financial plan, LEED review, and presentation format. A second panel of judges will convene in Boston to hear the finalists’ presentations.

 “Participation in this year’s Green Energy Challenge increased by nearly 100 percent,” said Green Energy Challenge coordinator Bita Silverman. “The detail of the submissions increased as well. Students take the competition very seriously – not just for the prize money, but because this is the best opportunity they have to be hands-on with the type of work they could be doing after graduation. They work with real electrical contractors as team mentors, so it isn’t just about pretty designs. They have to develop real solutions that solve real problems.”

"It's a very technically advanced program," said David Riley, faculty advisor for the Penn State student team. "The need for energy-efficient upgrades isn't hypothetical, so the solutions that students developed couldn’t be either. Ultimately, we hope these facilities can use the students’ proposals to start saving on the power they use in their buildings.”

Through its Talent Initiative, the Foundation provides a $2,000 convention travel stipend to each finalist team. The winning student chapter will receive a $2,000 award and the best presenter, also selected by the judges, will receive $500. In addition, all 13 teams have been invited to submit a poster presentation of their entry. These will be on display during the Convention and ELECTRI Council members will vote to select the best poster for a $750 award for the university department that sponsored the team.

Student teams also received financial support and technical guidance from their local NECA chapters and member firms in preparing their submissions.

The winning student proposal will be announced following the team presentations on October 2,  in Boston. A catalog of all entries will be published online with the announcement.

NECA is the voice of the $130 billion electrical construction industry that brings power, light, and communication technology to buildings and communities across the U.S. NECA’s national office and 119 local chapters advance the industry through advocacy, education, research and standards development. For more information, visit www.necanet.org.

ELECTRI International – The Foundation for Electrical Construction, Inc. is the primary research arm of the electrical construction industry. Foundation research helps to improve the productivity, professionalism, and competitiveness of electrical contractors. For more information, visit www.electri.org.

List of NECA Student Chapters Participating in the Green Energy Challenge

Contact Information

Beth Margulies, Director, Public Relations

301-215-4526, beth.margulies@necanet.org