Below you will find Solar Decathlon news from the Design Challenge archive, sorted by date.
105 teams from 93 collegiate institutions are leading the charge on tackling climate change by designing high-performance, zero energy buildings as part of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® 2024 Design Challenge.
Students and faculty from the 2023 Design Challenge Howard University team pose with their trophy. (Photo by Vern Slocum, NREL)
Only one week is left to register for the 2024 Design Challenge with the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon®!
The Design Challenge is an annual collegiate competition challenging interdisciplinary teams to create zero energy building designs that address real-world issues such as climate resilience, embodied carbon, existing building retrofits, and community impact.
Thinking about joining the 2024 Design Challenge?
Jump into your U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® competition experience at the Kickoff Webinar!
Join us on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, at 1 p.m. EDT to hear about:
Add the Sept. 5 Kickoff Webinar to your calendar today!
Are you a student or professor interested in transforming buildings to tackle the climate crisis?
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® is seeking collegiate student participants from diverse majors to join the next round of the zero energy building design competition. Students from collegiate institutions in the United States and around the world are encouraged to form interdisciplinary teams and register!
Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge teams showcase models of their sustainable building designs during the Competition Event at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Photo by Vern Slocum, NREL.
Are you a collegiate student interested in transforming buildings to serve communities and the planet? The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® is seeking student participants from diverse majors to join the next round of the zero-energy building design competition.
The Design Challenge is an annual design competition challenging interdisciplinary teams of collegiate students to create high-performance, low-carbon building designs that address real-world issues related to climate resilience, affordability, and environmental justice.
Ball State University, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and The Cooper Union Named 2023 Build and Design Challenge Winners
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the winners of the 21st annual Solar Decathlon®, DOE’s longest-running student competition. The annual collegiate contest challenges the next generation of building professionals to design and construct high-performance, low-carbon buildings powered by renewable energy, while promoting student innovation, STEM education, and workforce development opportunities in the buildings industry. Ball State University, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art won the top honors at this year’s competition and were announced at the Solar Decathlon Competition Event at DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado yesterday.
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Renderings from a selection of Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge finalist teams.
Graphic by NREL
Fifty-seven teams from 63 collegiate institutions have earned a spot in the final stage of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® 2023 Design Challenge.
“Solar Decathlon has pioneered energy efficient building designs for more than two decades; this year’s finalist teams showed there is always room to push the envelope on zero energy buildings,” said Rachel Romero, Design Challenge competition manager.
Finalist teams were selected at the Semifinal Competition Event, held virtually February 24–25, 2023. Teams presented their zero energy building designs to a panel of industry experts and finalists were selected based on their innovations, technical plans, and the quality of their presentations.
The competition includes residential and commercial designs in six different divisions: New Housing, Retrofit Housing, Attached Housing, Multifamily Building, Office Building, and Education Building. Up to 10 teams were selected in each of the contest divisions.
Finalist teams will compete to win their division, and possibly become one of two overall grand winners, at the hybrid Solar Decathlon Competition Event, April 20–23, 2023, in Golden, Colorado, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The event will also include virtual participation options, networking sessions, and the announcement of the 2023 Build Challenge winners.
“As the premier sponsor for Solar Decathlon this year, we are thrilled to honor the finalist teams in the Design Challenge,” said Deb Cloutier, chief sustainability officer at Legence. “The experience students gain during this program is foundational to the design of energy-efficient and sustainable buildings in real life—some of our best engineers today are Solar Decathlon graduates.”
Join the awards ceremony livestream on April 23, 2023, 10 a.m. EDT, to see which finalist teams earn the grand prizes this year!
2023 Design Challenge finalist teams by division:
New Housing Division
Retrofit Housing Division
Attached Housing Division
Multifamily Building Division
Office Building Division
Education Building Division
97 collegiate institutions with 124 total teams are participating in the Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge.
Students participating in the 2022 Design Challenge and 2023 Build Challenge pose on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory campus during the Solar Decathlon 2022 Competition Event, April 22–24, 2022.
Want to design a zero-energy building while still in school? Register now and form a 2023 Design Challenge team to develop sustainable building expertise and tackle real-world problems through the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® collegiate competition.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the winners of the 20th annual Solar Decathlon®, DOE’s longest-tenured student competition that has challenged 40,000 students across the world to use the latest technologies to design and build the most sustainable buildings possible. Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Arizona won this year’s Design Challenge for residential and commercial building grand prizes, respectively.
Students participating in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® 2022 Design Challenge pose during the virtual Semifinal Competition Event in February 2022. Photo courtesy of NREL.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® announced the launch of the 2023 Design Challenge. The 2023 Design Challenge will help usher in the third decade of the Solar Decathlon, which continues to build the future clean energy workforce.
Students from collegiate institutions in the United States and around the world are encouraged to imagine the buildings of the future and apply!
Team registration for the 2023 Design Challenge will open in July 2022 and close in October 2022; the next chance to join the Build Challenge will be in 2023. Mark your calendars and start gathering your team today!
About the Solar Decathlon
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® is a collegiate competition that prepares the next generation of building professionals to design and build high-performance, low-carbon buildings powered by renewables. The Design Challenge is a one- to two-semester, design-only competition, while the Build Challenge is a two-year design-build competition.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022, the Solar Decathlon has challenged more than 25,000 students to create efficient, affordable buildings powered by renewables, while promoting student innovation, STEM education, and workforce development opportunities in the buildings industry.
Buildings account for 75% of electricity use, 40% of total energy use, and 35% of carbon emissions in the United States. Solar Decathlon supports a key strategy for tackling climate challenges: developing a workforce that is equipped to design and construct a low-carbon building stock and deliver an equitable clean energy future.
Additional details are available on the Solar Decathlon website.
Fifty-five teams representing 38 universities are advancing as finalists in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® 2022 Design Challenge.
Finalist teams were chosen based on presentations and design submissions at the semifinal competition event, held virtually February 25–26, 2022. During this event, teams pitched their unique building designs, impressing industry expert jurors with their creativity and ability to tackle the most difficult issues in the built environment.
Name: Andrea Lin
Year participated in Solar Decathlon: 2021
University team: Northwestern University
Current organization / employer: Kipnis Architecture + Planning
Current role: Architectural Intern
How did participation in the Solar Decathlon affect the trajectory of your career?
My experience in Solar Decathlon brought me the confidence in changing my career path towards one that interests me. In my third year of university, I was exploring architecture classes and began learning about the design process and high-performance buildings. However, most of the work for these classes was done as individuals so the scope of work was focused mostly on the architectural function and aesthetic. Solar Decathlon exposed me to the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of sustainable design, which has helped me adapt my experiences to my interests.
Name: Nupoor Kansara
Year participated in Solar Decathlon: 2020
University team: Illinois Institute of Technology
Current organization / employer: Baumann Consulting
Current role: Energy and commissioning engineer (more…)
Passionate about sustainable buildings? Ready to test the skills you’ve learned in the classroom on a real-life project? The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® is ready for your innovative ideas and creativity! Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition that prepares the next generation of building professionals to design and build high-performance, low-carbon buildings powered by renewables.
The Solar Decathlon Competition Guide, 2022 Design Challenge Rules, and 2023 Build Challenge Rules are now available to the public. All collegiate institutions are encouraged to apply to participate in the next edition of Solar Decathlon by October 26, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Team Applications can be submitted for both the Design Challenge and the Build Challenge.
