US DOE’s Solar Decathlon 2013 reveals location and competitors

Orange County, California’s Great Park will play host to the US Department of Energy’s (US DOE) 2013 Solar Decathlon. The Orange County Great Park is a 1,347-acre site on the publicly-owned portion of the 4,700-acre former Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, and was selected from a pool of entrants primarily for its emphasis on sustainability and its easy access for visitors.

Entries for the biannual Solar Decathlon contest, run by the US DOE, will comprise an array of solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient and aesthetically pleasing while at the same time acting as promotional vehicles for the education of the masses regarding the economic benefits of energy-efficient dwellings.  

The specially-constructed Great Park Solar Village will house the first ever Decathlon event to be held outside of Washington DC.

The 20 successful college entrants include nine returning teams and 11 new teams:

• Arizona State University and The University of New Mexico (Tempe, Arizona, and Albuquerque, New Mexico)
• Czech Technical University (Prague, Czech Republic)
• Hampton University and Old Dominion University (Hampton and Norfolk, Virginia)
• Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont)
• Missouri University of Science and Technology (Rolla, Missouri)
• Norwich University (Northfield, Vermont)
• Queens University, Carleton University, and Algonquin College (Kingston and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
• Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, California)
• Southern California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology (Los Angeles, California)
• Stanford University (Palo Alto, California)
• Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, New Jersey)
• The Catholic University of America, George Washington University, and American University (Washington, DC)
• The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte, North Carolina)
• The University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Community College (El Paso, Texas)
• University of Calgary (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
• University of Louisville, Ball State University and University of Kentucky (Louisville, Kentucky; Muncie, Indiana; and Lexington, Kentucky)
• University of Nevada Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nevada)
• University of Southern California (Los Angeles, California)
• Vienna University of Technology (Vienna, Austria)
• West Virginia University (Morgantown, West Virginia)

"The Orange County Great Park is proud and honored to be chosen as the host site for the 2013 U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon," said Beth Krom, Chair of the Orange County Great Park Corporation Board of Directors.  "This unique event fits perfectly with our vision and focus on innovation, sustainability and community engagement.  We are excited and look forward to working with the Department of Energy, the participating universities and our community partners to put on an extraordinary event."