Throughout the 2024-2025 academic year, a team of graduate and undergraduate students competed in the Department of Energy's 2024-2025 Solar District Cup Challenge, hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This year had the largest competing body of students in the competitions' six-year history, with 38 teams from 35 different schools competing in the final event. Out of the five district use case divisions, the "App Solar'' team was assigned the State University of New York at Oneonta (SUNYO), and went head-to-head with teams from the University of Alabama, Villanova University, University of Illinois Chicago, Drexel University, Colorado School of Mines, Boise State University, and the College of New Jersey. On Saturday, April 19th App Solar presented their comprehensive solar + storage solution to a panel of judges, industry professionals, and other competing universities. It was announced on Monday, April 21st that App Solar had won first place in their assigned district use case and would advance to the Project Proposal Pitch Championship with the first place teams from the other five divisions.
App Solarʼs winning system design consisted of a ground-mounted single-axis tracking bifacial PV system, a fixed-tilt bifacial PV system, an outdoor communal space showcasing innovative solar technologies, peak-load shaving and outage resilience battery storage systems, and campus islanding capabilities. The total capacity of the proposed systems was 4.061 MW of PV and 9.79 MW of battery energy storage, providing comprehensive resilience in the face of an outage and the ability to shave 20% of SUNYO's annual demand. The in-depth proposal covered project development and construction, distribution and interconnection impacts, and a thorough financial analysis. The proposed solution fast-tracked SUNYO's carbon reduction goals, complimented the University's plans for future development, and provided campus resilience in emergency situations—heavily influenced by the personal experiences of team members who endured Hurricane Helene in September 2024. This is the second year in a row that App Solar has taken 1st place in their district, highlighting the practical impact of the team's innovative approaches and their contribution towards thoughtful renewable energy solutions.
Team Members:
Finley Collins, M.S. Appropriate Technology
James Poole, M.S. Appropriate Technology
Ransom Cope, B.S. Construction Management
Sawyer Houston, B.S. Sustainable Technology
Bradley Del Vecchio, B.S. Sustainable Technology
Apprecia Lassiter, B.S. Architectural Technology and Design
RyLee Wadman, B.S. Sustainable Technology
Paul DeYoung, B.S. Sustainable Technology
Faculty Advisor:
Dr. Ram Poudel, Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment
Dr. Sohad Abu-Elzait, Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment
Dr. Brian Raichle, Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment
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