The Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy hosted the third Solar Decathlon on the National Mall October 12-20, 2007. Thursday, October 18, 2007, Congressman Michael Burgess toured the Solar Village and visited the University of Texas and Texas A&M University solar homes on display there.

The Solar Decathlon began in 2002 to encourage university students to work with industry professionals and faculty specialists to design, construct, transport, and monitor solar powered homes. Every two years, 20 teams are invited to display their designs in Washington, D.C. and to compete in 10 contests from architectural design to market viability and appliance efficiency. The University of Texas and Texas A&M University were among the 20 international teams involved in this year's competition.

"What an outstanding opportunity to display the talented minds from the state of Texas," said Congressman Burgess. "The sooner we can get these young, talented students professionally trained and out into the world of solar power and energy efficiency the better off we will all be. We've got plenty of sun, and a vital need to conserve energy and water, so I'm extremely excited about the work being done at these institutions."

The two teams from Texas packed up their homes and headed by flatbed truck to the Solar Village site before the competition. The students then had just a matter of hours to put the homes together and display them for competition. The University of Texas team, building upon their past experience, decided on a one piece design to limit the leaks that contribute to energy loss. The Texas A&M University team calls their design the "groHome" building system, which allows the homeowner or business operator to modify the space to meet their specific needs while maintaining energy efficiency. The teams competed in daily events and opened up their homes to over 100,000 visitors.

When the final competition closed on Saturday, October 20, the overall first place award went to Technische Universität Darmstadt from Germany. The University of Texas and Texas A&M University teams had strong showings and plan to return for competition in the future.

"I want to thank the Texas teams for all their hard work and encourage them to continue to pursue their goals,” said Congressman Burgess. “When they return to class, I want them to empower their fellow students with the designs and concepts they experienced while they were in our Nation's Capital. They are the future of solar power and energy efficiency and hold the promise for advancement in innovation and design."

Today Rep. Michael Burgess met with the University of Texas and the Texas A&M Solar Decathlon teams who were visiting Washington, DC for the competition.

To see pictures of the visit, please visit the "Photo Gallery" section of the website.

Texas A&M University Solar Decathlon Team

University of Texas' Solar Decathlon Team