Santa Clara University 'Solar Athletes' Get Ready to Compete

Energy Resource, Feb 21, 2007

ENERGY RESOURCE-21 February 2007-Santa Clara University 'Solar Athletes' Get Ready to Compete(C)2007 JeraOne - http://www.jeraone.com

The Santa Clara University Solar Decathlon team is flexing its power as it prepares to launch the construction phase of the University's first solar house Feb. 22.

The solar home will be built on the SCU campus in California and transported cross-country to Washington, D.C., where it will become part of a solar village composed of homes designed and built by other university Solar Decathlon teams.

SCU's competitors include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cornell University; Texas A&M University; University of Colorado, Denver and Boulder; Pennsylvania State University; and Universidad Politecnica de Madrid.

"Many of the materials that we'll be using were designed right here at Santa Clara. The building of this house is truly a collaborative effort between students, faculty, and the community, and demonstrates the power and promise of alternative energy," said James Bickford, project manager of SCU's Solar Decathlon team.

Teams will be judged on their ability to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient, solar-powered home. The houses will be on display and judged in Washington, D.C., in October.

For more information on the Solar Decathlon, visit www.eere.energy.gov/solar_decathlon.> Santa Clara University is a Jesuit Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California's Silicon Valley.

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