Collegiate Wind Competition

California State University Maritime Academy is one of  13 universities from around the country competing in the 2022-2023 US Department of Energy (DOE) Collegiate Wind Competition, which will be held at The University of Colorado Boulder during the week of May 15-19. The 13 teams were downselected from a group of 30 based on reports submitted during the fall 2022 semester.  The Collegiate Wind Competition is facilitated and funded by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  It challenges the undergraduate teams of students to:

• Design and build a model wind turbine and test it against a set of rigorous performance criteria in a wind tunnel
• Develop a wind project plan based on wind energy market and siting considerations
• Engage with the university, wind industry professionals, and local community to learn about and promote the wind industry

This year's contest has a focus on offshore wind, including the design of a shallow water foundation to support the test turbine, as well an offshore project development plan in the Gulf of Mexico.  The Cal Maritime Wind Team is comprised of students from the several programs - Mechanical Engineering, Facilities Engineering Technology, International Business and Logistics, Global Studies and Maritime Affairs, and Marine Transportation. 

Cal Maritime has been participating in the Collegiate Wind Competition since 2014, and over 50 students have participated.  The team placed 1st overall in 2018, 2nd in 2015, 3rd in 2019, and 4th in 2017 and 2022.  In 2020, the Competition took place virtually and the team placed 1st in Turbine Design and 3rd in Project Development.