The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is proud to announce the newest member of the global Solar Decathlon family: Solar Decathlon China. The Chinese event was announced this week after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. Department of Energy, China’s National Energy Administration, Peking University, and Applied Materials. The first Solar Decathlon China will be held in 2013.

The Solar Decathlon China memorandum of understanding was recognized by President Obama and Chinese President Hu as one of many important agreements signed this week in an effort to enhance cooperation between the United States and China on climate change, clean energy, and the environment.

The Chinese competition is the result of growing global interest in Solar Decathlon, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.

The inaugural U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon was held in 2002 and featured 14 U.S. teams. In 2005, the competition became international when Canadian Solar and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid were accepted as two of 18 teams. This internationalization continued in 2007 and 2009, when the 20 teams included teams from Canada, Germany, and Spain. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon will include teams from Canada, Belgium, New Zealand, and China.

Also in 2007, the United States and Spain signed a memorandum of understanding to allow the creation of Solar Decathlon Europe, the first overseas offshoot of the Solar Decathlon concept. Its first competition was held in Madrid in 2010. The next event is planned for 2012, when Solar Decathlon Europe will host 20 teams from 15 countries and four continents.

Solar Decathlon China will continue in the same tradition.

“I hope the competition will inspire a lot of Chinese college students to open up their minds and build their careers in developing innovative technologies and practices in renewable energy and building energy efficiency,” said Yu Pingrong, research professor and director of the Center of Solar Energy at Peking University.

On Thursday, Jan. 13, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) hosted Green Day for International Builders’ Show (IBS) attendees, which included a media open house for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. This event offered media the opportunity to meet with the teams, learn about their accomplishments, and receive a personal overview of the scale models on exhibit. Richard King kicked off the event.

Team New York is interviewed for an NAHB Webisode.

“With Solar Decathlon 2011 on the horizon, we are honored to showcase the innovative spirit of our student teams at this year’s International Builders’ Show,” he said. “Working around the globe, the students are on track to deliver the best in affordable energy-efficiency to a public audience this fall.  Their progress mid-way through the competition is impressive—and a clear sign that we will again host one of the world’s most hotly anticipated clean-energy events.”

Other speakers included Chip Dence, chairman of the NAHB Energy Subcommittee, who acknowledged the green builders in the room, and Joe Simon, a solar decathlete in 2007 and 2009 who now serves as competition manager. Simon recounted his experience as a Solar decathlete with the Illinois team and how it prepared him to enter the clean-energy workforce.

Mark Taylor, assistant professor of architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, explains Re_home’s concept.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy helped kick off the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Florida, with an educational session titled “The New Class of Affordable Solar Housing.”  Led by Solar Decathlon Director Richard King and featuring students from five Solar Decathlon 2011 teams, the session raised awareness among building industry professionals about energy efficiency and solar energy. 

The presenters were: 

• Manny Dorticos, Chrissy Perez, and Deana Sritalapat (Florida International University)
• Nick Albizati and Christopher Steffens (Parsons The New School for Design and Stevens Institute of Technology)
• Eric Holt (Purdue University)
• Tobias Danielmeier (New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington)
• Mark Taylor (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).

Eric Holt of Purdue University answers an audience question.

The student teams each presented their Solar Decathlon house concept, discussed their design process, and answered audience questions.

Over the years, the National Mall—the nation’s front yard—has played host to many large, public events, which have impacted the long-term health of the National Mall. In support of the historic effort underway to protect, improve, and restore the National Mall, the Department of Energy, in conjunction with the National Park Service, has decided to seek a new site for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011.

The National Mall, a great American treasure, has served as a unique launching pad for the Solar Decathlon, hosting the first four events from 2002 to 2009. 

During each Solar Decathlon, student teams from around the world design and build highly efficient, solar-powered homes to be thoroughly tested, expertly judged, and publically displayed during an intense few weeks in the fall of the competition year.  Each of the decathlons held over the years has grown, attracting more and more public interest.  People come from all over to be inspired by the students’ creativity and to learn about clean energy solutions for their own homes.

The Department of Energy is presently researching alternative venues to hold the event this fall, and will announce the selected location in the near future.

We are thankful for the support of the teams, universities, sponsors, and enthusiasts who have made this such a wonderful event in the past, and who are presently working with us to make it even better this year.  We recognize the challenges this change may present teams and sponsors and we appreciate their understanding as we select a new location.  We are confident the site chosen will support a very successful Solar Decathlon and we look forward to seeing each team’s entry come to life this fall.

About the Solar Decathlon:
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon challenges 20 collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.

Solar Decathlon Europe has announced the 20 teams that will participate in its 2012 competition. The teams hail from 15 countries and 4 continents.

The Solar Decathlon Europe 2012 teams are:

• RWTH Aachen University (Germany)
• Hochschule Konstanz University of Applied Sciences (Germany) 
• Team Brasil: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina and Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil)
• Tongji University (China)
• Technical University of Denmark (Denmark)
• The American University in Cairo (Egypt)
• Team Andalucía: Universidad de Sevilla, Universidad de Granada, Universidad de Malaga, and Universidad de Jaén (Spain)
• Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera (Spain)
• Universidad del País Vasco–Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (Spain)
• Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain)
• École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Grenoble (France)
• Arts et Métiers ParisTech (France)
• Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Hungary)
• Team Rome: Roma Tre University and Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy)
• Chiba University (Japan)
• Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway)
• Delft University of Technology (Netherlands)
• Universidade do Porto (Portugal)
• London Metropolitan University (United Kingdom)
• Team Bucharest 2012: “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism, Politehnica University of Bucharest, and Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest (Romania).

“We congratulate the 20 selected teams and hope to see, as in the 2010 edition, ‘research and development in pure state,’” said Spain’s Minister of Housing, Beatriz Corredor.

“The high level of the selected projects for 2012 assures that major advances will be made in a shorter period of time in the area of energy-efficient housing,” said Sergio Vega, project manager of Solar Decathlon Europe. “The participating teams will develop, within almost two years of competition, true solar homes, as seen in the last competition in June 2010 in Madrid, and demonstrate to the international market that it is possible to compete with these technologies.”

Solar Decathlon Europe is organized by the secretary of state for Housing and Urban Development at the Spanish Ministry of Public Works with the collaboration of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and the support of the U.S. Department of Energy.