Cal Poly’s Wind Power Team once again displayed the power of Learn by Doing at the 2024 Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition, taking first place in the Connection Creation Contest and the Turbine Design Contest.
This year’s competition took place from May 6-9 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Connection Creation Contest focuses on outreach to individuals or groups involved or interested in wind energy, with an emphasis this year on each team organizing three events aimed at strengthening the team’s connections and introducing more people to wind power.
“The competition reminded us that what sets us apart from other contestants is our unique connections with the companies holding leases for offshore wind production off the coast of Morro Bay,” said mechanical engineering student Liv Hoffsis, the team’s outreach lead.
As part of their portfolio for the Connection Creation Contest, Cal Poly Wind Power hosted an interteam conference with Cal Maritime and UCLA. The team also hosted the Energy Innovation Conference with two clubs on campus and took part in the Society of Women Engineers’ Build an Engineer Day.
The Cal Poly team also prepared design reports and a presentation detailing their turbine design, leading to another first-place win in the Turbine Design Contest.
“The judges were very impressed with our well-thought-out design requirements,” Hoffsis said. “We are proud to have a strong foundation of engineering knowledge and an incredible report to back up our turbine. Nex year, we hope to continue with our high standard of design while practicing more to ensure that everything works reliably at the competition.”
You can find more on Cal Poly Wind Power here.
By Taylor Villanueva
