PG&E Supports Santa Clara University in Solar Decathlon

Pacific Gas and Electric announced in a press release today that they plan to support Santa Clara University in a competition, called the Solar Decathlon, to create a solar-powered home. PG&E has donated $25,000 to help the school pay for materials.

Santa Clara University is one of twenty schools participating in the challenge, which has been put on by the United States Department of Energy. SCU has put together a team of over 80 students from the School of Engineering.

The team began construction on the home on June 3. The goal of the project is, to quote the press release, to create a solar house that will "generate enough electricity to run a modern household that is functional, elegant, intelligent, and innovative." The home will be roughly 650 square feet.

Bob Howard, vice president of gas transmission and distribution for Pacific Gas and Electric, is optimistic about the project. "PG&E is committed to supporting alternative energy and sustainable living," he said. "Santa Clara University's creative Solar Decathlon team is utilizing new materials and technology to construct an innovative solar home that will serve as a model of energy efficiency."

At the end of the competition in October, all of the teams' solar houses will be put into a solar village. The village will be open on the national mall in Washington D.C. Each home will be judged in 10 categories. The categories being: Architecture, Engineering, Graphics and Communication, The Comfort Zone, Hot Water, Appliances, Energy Balance, Lighting, Marketing, and Getting Around.

SCU's School of Engineering and Environmental Studies hopes to use the house after the competition for tours and learning activities. The house will be placed on Santa Clara University's campus.

According to the Solar Decathlon website, this year's competition is the organization's third. University of Colorado, Denver and Boulder won the 2005 competition, followed by Cornell University and California Polytechnic State University. University of Colorado also won first place in the 2002 competition.

The website describes the makeup of the team as "tomorrow's engineers, architects, researchers, and homeowners." The competition is designed to the teams not only make efficient houses, but homes that would feasible to live in.

The competition has a varied list of sponsors, including the American Institute of Architects, BP, Sprint, and the U.S. Green Building Council, among others. The teams include schools such as Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Texas A&M University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Illinois.

The winner will be announced on Friday, October 19 at 2 P.M.

Sources:

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-10-2007/0004623229&EDATE=

http://www.solardecathlon.org/about.html