Staff Blog: Middlebury College nets (another) Solar Decathlon nod

It seems like just yesterday that Middlebury College’s “Self Reliance” solar-powered house headed down to Washington, D.C., to compete in the biennial Solar Decathlon competition. The Middlebury kids last fall claimed fourth place overall in an international field of entries.

The U.S. Department of Energy today released its picks for the 2013 round of the highly selective competition, and Middlebury College once again made the cut.

Each of the 20 teams selected will have just under two years to design and build an energy-efficient home, culminating in a fall 2013 competition in Irvine, Calif.

Middlebury College’s design is called the “In-Fill Home,” which the Dept. of Energy said “will adapt and evolve to inspire healthy, resourceful living on underutilized, neglected city properties. As the name suggests, the home will 'fill in' leftover urban spaces.”

Stay tuned for updates on the Solar Decathlon, and a story in Monday’s paper.

Middlebury College won’t be representing the great state of Vermont alone — Norwich University also made the cut with a proposed "Delta T-90 House." In addition to teams across the U.S., teams from Canada, the Czech Republic and Austria are also in the running.

The houses are judged on affordability, consumer appeal and design, and Energy Secretary Harry Chu said on Thursday that the competition comes at a crucial time for energy in the United States.

“As President Obama made clear in the State of the Union address this week, we need to ensure that the next generation of America’s architects, engineers and entrepreneurs have the hands-on experience and training they need to lead our nation’s clean energy future,” said Secretary Chu.

Update 1/30/12: See the full article here: http://addisonindependent.com/201201middlebury-college-nets-second-solar-decathlon-nod