As reported by Chris Spallino at Penn State News:

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — You never know which way the wind might blow. But one thing is for certain — the Penn State Wind Energy Club blew away the competition at the U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition 2016, held at the end of May in New Orleans.

Competing against 11 teams from universities across the nation and Puerto Rico, the Penn State team, comprised of 21 students from various majors, earned a big “W” in the Big Easy as the competition’s overall winner, claiming its second consecutive title. The team also grabbed first place in the Business Plan and Turbine Testing contests.

The Collegiate Wind Competition challenges interdisciplinary undergraduate teams from a variety of degree programs to offer a unique solution to a complex wind energy project. Each team is required to design a wind-driven power system — a wind turbine — to supply electricity to non-grid connected devices for off-grid applications.

The competition, however, goes beyond the technical aspects of building and testing a turbine; each team must also develop and deliver a business plan based on market research and establish a deployment strategy.

Read the full article at Penn State News.

Video source: Energy.gov: Penn State University Puts Collegiate Wind Competition-Winning Turbine on Display