Despite the recent announcement that the 2011 Solar Decathalon competition will not take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., members of the Middlebury design team are moving forward with optimism due to a recent $150,000 anonymous donation to the project.
Between now and the competition in late September, team members are challenged with designing, constructing and transporting a solar-powered house. The Solar Decathalon is sponsored by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory and features houses from 20 collegiate teams from across the world.
Park Service rejects competition permit
Team members received the news that the competition would not be held on the National Mall while at the International Builder’s Show in Orlando, Fla. in mid-January.
Seven team members traveled to the exhibition to network with representatives from the green building business and showcase the model of their home, Self Reliance. Team members were encouraged by the positive reactions they received from professionals in the business.
“Homebuilders were especially impressed with our model because they could actually see a market for it,” said Student Project Lead Addison Godine ’11.5.
Astrid Schanz-Garbassi ’12, who works on communications for the project, valued the “thick wad of business cards” that she brought home from the conference in addition to her interaction with other attendees.
“It felt really good to get people excited about the project [and to] express ourselves and explain what the project is all about,” said Schanz-Garbassi.
“It was [also] helpful to talk to corresponding team members on other teams,” added Schanz-Garbassi. “I talked to a lot of communications, events planning, public relations and community outreach people about what was working for them [and] what hasn’t worked out for them and I feel like we learned a lot from each other in that respect.”
Although the conference itself was a positive experience for team members, the unexpected announcement that the U.S. National Parks Service did not approve the permit for the competition to be held on the National Mall sent a shockwave through all teams present.
“We were pretty disappointed,” said Godine. “It’s really late in the game to be changing something like that … and it just came out of nowhere. We had no idea that this was possible. We thought it was all done months ago.”
The Parks Service cited the need to “protect, restore and improve” the Mall as the principle reason for the rejection. This announcement was soon followed by the news that China’s government plans to host its own Solar Decathalon in 2013. Many solar industries have already shipped operations from the U.S. to China due to higher government subsidies for the industry and lower manufacturing costs.
“When our government takes an event like the Solar Decathalon off the National Mall, it says something about its priorities,” said Godine. “That’s really the most disappointing thing, I think, is the [implications for the] future of green energy in this country.”
“The Mall is a place that’s high-traffic — people stumble upon the competition, they don’t have to seek it out,” added Melissa Segil ’12, event planning lead for the team. “It’s a high-profile place that you’re going to see. Other places may not have the same ease of access and this is something that we want the public to really be in touch in with.”
Despite the loss of their ideal site, team members remain hopeful about the larger impact of the competition.
“Maybe this is an opportunity,” said Schanz-Garbassi. “[They’re] closing one door — being right in front of the White House — but maybe opening another door and getting another city involved.”
The Solar Decathalon has been held in Washington, D.C. four times since 2002. Although The New York Times reported that the DOE is considering sites in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and St. Louis, for now, the team members must keep moving forward with the current plans for construction and transport.
“We won’t be able to adapt until we know [the final site], so we’re continuing to work,” said Godine. “There’s lots to do.”
Team receives anonymous donation
In late December, student leaders of the Middlebury Solar Decathalon team received the news that an anonymous donor had given $150,000 to the project.
President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz delivered the news of the donation in person to students at the Harris Farmhouse, the project’s headquarters on campus.
Segil was not at the Farmhouse for Liebowitz’s announcement, and heard about the donation through Godine.
“I [went] upstairs and [said], ‘Addison, someone said you have news for me?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, I’ve got about 150,000 pieces of news for you.’”
Leaders explained that the donation has provided the team with enthusiasm and reassurance.
“People are still buzzing about it,” said Fundraising Lead Kris Williams ’11.5. “The whole team was just floored. If you realize somebody believes in what you’re doing enough to give you $150,000 to do it, that’s all the affirmation you need. It’s an incredibly generous gift.”
Liebowitz commended the greater effects of the donation in a recent press release.
“[The donation] speaks to the donor’s recognition of how important it is for our students to have opportunities to harness the power of their liberal arts education for the greater good — in this case, to meet all the inherent challenges and design and build a house that is affordable and sustainable.”
The donation will fund a significant portion of the team’s $500,000 fundraising goal. The team also received the 2011 Senior Class Gift of $100,000.
Williams commended the Senior Committee on their work in fundraising.
“[Student donations are] way ahead of what they’ve seen in previous years,” said Williams.
Williams explained that although the team is “testing the waters” by applying for foundational grants for the project, most of the funding so far has come from developing personal connections with donors.
“A lot of the work is networking [and] it happens a lot slower than people might think,” said Williams. “It’s not like you just send a letter out with a dollar amount and you get it. It’s about building a relationship,”
With construction groundbreaking quickly approaching, Williams has begun to alter his fundraising strategy.
“We’re really starting to push for in-kind donations, which are donations of materials and services,” explained Williams. “My role shifts a little bit from having a big emphasis on cash donations — which are still very much needed — to focusing on finding suppliers for the materials that we expect to use.”
“Fingers crossed” for smooth progress
During Winter Term, students in the Construction Documentation course worked on solidifying details for the interior design and exterior landscaping, among other aspects of the project.
“It [was] a smaller class — 7 or 8 students — so communication [was] really smooth,” said Godine.
Communications and Outreach Lead Katie Romanov ’11.5 explained that students also worked with the Education Studies department to design lesson plans about green building.
“We’ll be doing interactive activities with lower, middle and upper schools in Addison County,” said Romanov.
The larger impact of the project is important to many team members.
“[Solar Decathalon] is really about sharing the solution and ideas with other people, and that’s what’s going to give this project its strength. We want to provide a solution that other people can adopt in their own lives — that’s how we’re going to change things,” said Williams.
The students on the project team hope to share their vision with the greater Middlebury community through spring fundraisers and events. On March 1, the Middlebury Farmer’s Diner will host team members and supporters and will donate 10 percent of the evening’s proceeds to the project.
Team leads also plan to hold a faculty open house to help professors learn more about the project and develop ways to integrate the project into their curriculum.
Romanov explained that a coffee table book about the project is already in the works.
“[Submissions are] open to the greater Addison County community [and] to the on-campus community,” said Romanov. “Some professors will be assigning creative writing [pieces] to investigate things like, ‘What does home mean to people?’ and, ‘How have human-environment relations developed over time?’”
There is an open call for written submissions through March 15. The book will also include pictures, sketches and other artwork about the project.
The construction of the house will begin during Spring Recess under the supervision of Construction Lead Alex Jopek ’11. The team recently put out a call for student applications for three construction positions.
In the meantime, students will continue to move forward on the design of the house. The team must submit the final set of plans for the project in mid-March.
“We’re crossing our fingers, but we’re pretty confident,” said Godine.
Solar Decathalon receives $150K
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