The U.S. Energy Department has spent $11 million over the past two years to allow 19 college teams to showcase energy-efficient homes this month near the National Mall.
The federal government gives each competing team a $100,000 grant and spends the remaining $8 million planning and staffing the three-week-long Solar Decathlon, which is held once every two years, said Thomas Welch, a spokesman for the energy agency.
The competitors’ remaining costs, which can add up to $1 million for some teams, are covered by donations from hundreds of businesses including Washington-area companies such as Pepco, Clark Construction and Constellation Energy.
Many corporate sponsors donate money or materials because they believe the Solar Decathlon, which attracted more than 300,000 visitors in 2009, raises valuable market interest in energy-efficient technology, said Richard King, director of the event.
Other sponsors are interested in buying the homes, which cost between $250,000 and $700,000 apiece and capture energy with canopies of solar panels. Most of the homes are no larger than 1,200 square feet, but with mobile-home-like creativity can accommodate a bedroom, bathroom, laundry facility, kitchen and living room.
In the University of Maryland’s entry, a wooden kitchen counter detaches from the wall to become a full-size dining room table, and a gutter outside recycles water into a filtration system.
This year, one solar-powered home will be donated to a family in Ward 7.
Federally supported green energy initiatives are under increased scrutiny following the recent collapse of Solyndra, a California solar energy company that received $535 million in federal loan guarantees.
Some commentators have criticized the Solar Decathlon as a waste of taxpayer dollars. The event illustrates “the absurdity of our government’s fixation on solar energy,” conservative radio host Brian Sussman wrote on his blog this week.
Supporters of the competition
note that some of technologies showcased there are being patented — including a dehumidifier that the Maryland team installed in its model this year.
“We’re educating students, but we’re also introducing new technologies into the market,” King said. “We’re the best workforce development [agency] in the country, and you can quote me on that.”
Roughly 2,000 students pursuing postsecondary degrees in engineering, architecture and related disciplines are involved in the Solar Decathlon at universities across the U.S. and in Canada, China and New Zealand, King said.
After designing and building the homes on their campuses, students must break down the structures, transfer the pieces to West Potomac Park and rebuild the houses within one week. For the team from China, shipping costs were almost as expensive as the home itself, according to Tongji University student Xi Fengxin. While the houses are on display, all lights and air conditioning units must remain on and students are required to regularly run the dishwashers and washing machines to test the homes’ energy efficiency.
Winners of the competition will be announced Sunday.
