Middle & High School Solar Energy Competition in Philadelphia – May 15

Posted by Philadelphia Solar Energy Association on March 1, 2022

The biggest solar photovoltaic (PV) specialists’ conference in North America is taking place in Philadelphia, June 5-10, 2022. We are reaching out to invite teachers, facilitators, and students to participate in the  PVSC Middle and High School Competition.

As part of the conference, there is a competition for 4th-12th grade students.  Students from across the world are invited to create a project related to solar energy.

There are two ways for youth to participate:

• Submit a 90-second lightning pitch explaining your best photovoltaic design idea and/or solar energy prototype. (Upload video by May 15)
• Submit a solar futures narrative describing how photovoltaics could positively transform your community. (Upload story by May 16)

Here is a link to the competition webpage. You can see examples from past competitions here (pp. 7-8), here, here, or some of the impacts published here.

Students can develop either project on their own, with the help of teachers and/or with guidance from photovoltaic engineering mentors.  Resources will continue to be added to the website between now and the submission deadline. Please encourage your students to sign up on the competition website for updates. They can also provide virtual mentoring sessions for individuals (with a parent present) or for groups and classes.

Awards will be given at elementary, middle, and high school levels. 

Projects will be presented in a virtual session on the first day of the PVSC Conference. Please distribute the competition flyers (linked here and here) and encourage your students to participate. You might also wish to share the Solar Narratives orienting letter linked here. For more information about the event, visit the Middle and High School Competition Website.

There is also a small amount of funding for solar projects for a few teams from low-income schools. Conference organizers are happy to provide mentorship to all competitors. Please see the website for more information.

The Philadelphia Solar Energy Association is coordinating closely with the conference to maximize learning opportunities for local students.