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Shine On!

Sunday, October 18, 2015

By Richard King

When I first met the teams onsite three weeks ago I said it was their time to shine. And they did.  The decathletes shined so brightly they turned into stars!

Decathletes are not the type to skate through life. We have seen them in action and now have higher expectations for their continued leadership—leadership qualities our nation needs.

Solar Decathlon 2015 decathletes learned how to design and build sustainably from their faculty and mentors. They used their creativity to push us further into the future. And the power of their leadership is how they communicated to the country and the world how to live sustainably. They are students who teach. What an amazing benefit to themselves and mankind. They are totally awesome!

Photo of crowds of people within a village of solar-powered houses.

Thank you to the thousands of people who visited the Solar Decathlon 2015 village to support the student teams and tour their innovative houses. (Credit: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon)

As the seventh U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon comes to a close, I am so grateful to everyone who made it a success.

Thank you to all the students and faculty who worked tirelessly to design, build, and showcase the houses.

Thank you to all the many sponsors who supported the teams and the competition.

Thank you to all the volunteers who gave their time and helped make our visitors feel special.

Thank you to the City of Irvine who made us feel at home—and to the ICTV crew whose daily videos made the competition come alive.

To the thousands of people who visited the Solar Decathlon village to support the teams and tour their innovative houses, thank you. Your delighted faces over the past two weeks gave us priceless energy!

And to our staff, who are the best, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Collectively, all of you made the Solar Decathlon 2015 a success. Thank you. Here’s to a bright future for all of us!

Richard King is director of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

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