Solar Decathlon Organizers Revise 2015 Competitors List

Today, Solar Decathlon organizers announced that Florida/Singapore—a team comprising University of Florida, National University of Singapore, and Santa Fe College—has withdrawn from the Solar Decathlon 2015 competition.

“Florida/Singapore was an outstanding team, and we’re saddened to see them leave the competition,” said Richard King, U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon director. “Even though they won’t be crossing the finish line in Irvine this fall, I know that the hard work they devoted to the Solar Decathlon will pay off for these talented students.”

With just weeks to go before the competition, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2015 teams are racing against the clock. While some teams are putting the finishing touches on their houses and competition plans, Florida/Singapore found out the hard way that the Solar Decathlon is not all about architecture and engineering. The team’s faculty advisors indicated that funding was the principal constraint to moving forward.

“This is very disappointing to our team of students and faculty, who have dedicated a great deal of time and energy to the project,” said Bradley Walters, the team’s faculty advisor and assistant professor at University of Florida College of Design Construction + Planning, School of Architecture. “We feel that the house has great merit and hope to construct it locally to benefit community partners, if possible. The students got a lot out of this effort, and we owe it to them to ensure their efforts have a place in the constructed environment.”

The modified Solar Decathlon 2015 team roster is:

• California Polytechnic State University
• California State University, Sacramento
• Clemson University
• Crowder College and Drury University
• Missouri University of Science and Technology
• New York City College of Technology
• State University of New York at Alfred College of Technology and Alfred University
• Stevens Institute of Technology
• The University of Texas at Austin and Technische Universitaet Muenchen
• University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
• University of California, Davis
• University of California, Irvine; Saddleback College; Chapman University; and Irvine Valley College
• West Virginia University and University of Roma Tor Vergata
• Western New England University, Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, and Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana
• Yale University.

“We wish other teams the best as they move forward in these final weeks,” Walters said.

Carol Laurie is the communications manager of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

Tags: Competition, Florida/Singapore, Solar Decathlon, Solar Decathlon 2015

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 5th, 2015 at 1:11 pm and is filed under Competition, Florida/Singapore, Solar Decathlon, Solar Decathlon 2015.