DOE Secretary Chu to Speak at Solar Decathlon 2011 Awards Ceremony

Awards Ceremony on Saturday, October 1, 2:30 p.m. at National Mall’s West Potomac Park

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – On Saturday, October 1, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu will join collegiate students and event sponsors at the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 closing ceremony to announce this year’s winner. The ceremony will take place at West Potomac Park.

WHO:
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu
Richard King, Director of the Solar Decathlon, U.S. Department of Energy

WHAT:
The Solar Decathlon challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate houses powered by the sun that are affordable, energy efficient, attractive, and easy to live in. Saturday’s announcement will cap off the nearly two week competition and identify the team that best blended affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.

WHEN:
Saturday, October 1, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

WHERE:
National Mall’s West Potomac Park, Washington, D.C.
Note: There is almost no parking at West Potomac Park. We strongly encourage media to ride the free shuttle from Smithsonian Metro, which operates from 9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. on Saturday

This is the final weekend that these highly efficient solar-powered houses will be open to the public for free tours. Following the awards ceremony and public hours on Saturday, the solar village will open for one final day on Sunday, October 2, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Media interested in covering the Solar Decathlon 2011 may visit www.SolarDecathlon.gov/press_room.html for more information, to arrange an interview, or to schedule a personalized tour of the solar village. For full event information, current standings, high-resolution photos, videos, an event schedule and daily results, visit www.SolarDecathlon.gov. You also may follow the competition in real time on Facebook at Facebook.com/DOESolarDecathlon and Twitter at @Solar_Decathlon.

Solar Decathlon 2011 teams competing on the National Mall’s West Potomac Park

    -- Appalachian State University    --      Team Belgium (Ghent University)
    -- Canada (University of Calgary)  --      Team China (Tongji University)
                                        --     Team Florida (The University of
                                        South Florida, Florida State
                                        University, the University of Central
    --Florida International             Florida, and the University of
     University                         Florida)
                                        --     Team Massachusetts
                                        (Massachusetts College of Art and
    -- University of Illinois at        Design and University of Massachusetts
     Urbana-Champaign                   at Lowell)
                                        --     Team New Jersey (Rutgers - The
                                        State University of New Jersey and New
    -- University of Maryland           Jersey Institute of Technology)
                                        --     Team New York (The City College
    -- Middlebury College               of New York)
    --New Zealand (Victoria
     University of Wellington)         --      The University of Tennessee
                                        --     Tidewater Virginia (Old
                                        Dominion University and Hampton
    -- The Ohio State University        University)
    --Parsons NS Stevens (Parsons
     The New School for Design and
     Stevens Institute of Technology,
     a team that also includes Milano
     School of International Affairs,
     Management and Urban Policy at
     The New School)
    -- Purdue University
    --The Southern California
     Institute of Architecture and
     California Institute of
     Technology

More about the Solar Decathlon
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 is an award-winning program that challenges collegiate students from around the world to design, build and operate solar-powered houses that are affordable, highly energy efficient, attractive, and easy to live in. The competition shows consumers how to save money and energy with affordable clean energy products that are available today. The nearly two-year projects culminate in an unprecedented display of affordable green living and design on the National Mall’s West Potomac Park from September 23 – October 2, 2011. The Solar Decathlon also provides participating students with hands-on experience and unique training that prepares them to enter our nation’s clean energy workforce, supporting the Obama Administration’s goal of transitioning to a clean energy economy while saving families and businesses money.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon