High School Photovoltaic Design Competition

The annual High School Photovoltaic Design Competition will be held as part of PVSC during Denver Solar Day on Sunday June 8th, 2014. The High School Photovoltaic Design Competition has been held in conjunction with the IEEE PVSC for over 20 years. This venue provides participating high school students with direct interactions with world-famous photovoltaic technologists and businesses. Denver Solar Day expects to attract up to 2000 people from the Denver community including PV installers, PV buyers, students, utilities, and the general public who are interested in including solar power in the daily lives. There is no charge for the general public to attend Denver Solar Day events.

Invitation to the competition:

High school students, under the supervision of a faculty member, are invited to submit projects to be displayed at the Competition. The design projects must demonstrate the use of photovoltaics in a practical application, using only photovoltaics as the power source for the project. The project must be able to be displayed in an 8 ft. x 6 ft. exhibit area. A table will be provided. Electricity is available upon request. Projects are judged on originality, quality, and the ability to communicate the results.

Financial support will be provided for participating high schools:

  • $500 seed money: Upon confirmation of participation, a stipend of $500 for PV project costs will be sent to the school.
  • Prize money: A panel of experts will judge the projects and cash awards will be made to the top 3 finishers. $1000 for first, $750 for second, and $300 for third place

In addition to the prizes, booth space (at no charge) is made available to the high schools to exhibit their projects during the main PVSC conference. This is an opportunity to showcase the student’s projects to a world-class audience of PV experts.

Who may participate?

High school students are eligible to participate, provided they will still be high school students in May of 2014.

How to enter the competition:

Fill out the entrance form and return it to Keith Emery (see contact information below).

Contact for further questions:

Keith Emery, Organizer and chair IEEE PVSC High School Design Competition,
phone (303) 880-2913; e-mail: [email protected]
Dan Friedman, Co-chair (303) 384-6472; email [email protected]