[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 22957-22958]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      2005 SOLAR DECATHLON WINNER

 Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure and 
pride that I commend the University of Colorado Solar Team on taking 
overall honors in the 2005 Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in 
Washington, DC. With their strong work ethic, vision, creativity and 
commitment to energy conservation and efficiency, the CU Solar Team has 
successfully designed, engineered and constructed a national model for 
an attractive, energy-efficient solar-powered home, while outshining 
esteemed competitors from such prestigious institutions as Cornell 
University and the California Polytechnic State University.
  The 2005 Solar Decathlon was an international competition between 18 
competing collegiate teams, sponsored by the Department of Energy's 
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, or NREL, in Golden, CO. 
Participants came from all over the United States, and as far away as 
Puerto Rico, Canada and Spain. Teams competed in 10 areas, including 
architecture, livability and comfort, as well as how well the homes 
provide energy for space heating and cooling, hot water, lighting and 
appliances. Home designs were also required to produce enough extra 
energy to power an electric car.
  The CU Solar Team is a tight-knit group of students and faculty from 
the colleges of architecture, engineering, and environmental studies. 
Charged with the task of integrating natural materials and innovative 
technology into an environmentally conscious, publicly accessible and 
energy efficient modular home design, architecture students began to 
``think like engineers''

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and engineering students were placed in the role of architect. In the 
end, the team rose to the challenge and successfully achieved an 
exceptional solar design which included features such as a rooftop 
photovoltaic system composed of 32 SunPower 200-watt solar panels, and 
made of building materials such as soy, corn, sunflower and canola.
  At a time when our Nation's energy policy continues to be heavily 
dependent on foreign oil, and when home heating costs are rising to 
unbearable levels, I commend the ambitious work of these students in 
envisioning, designing and successfully creating a model for energy-
efficient mobile home design. Their achievement stands as a testament 
to the world-class research and innovation produced at the University 
of Colorado, which is one of the nation's most accomplished research 
universities.
  I also want to briefly pay tribute to NREL. It is no exaggeration to 
say that NREL holds the key to our Nation's long-term energy security. 
For nearly 30 years, NREL has been at the forefront of alternative 
energy research and development, and their sponsorship of research 
projects like the decathlon helps ensure that our young engineers and 
scientists have opportunities to channel their education, creativity, 
and talent towards solving our Nation's energy challenges.
  The work done by this team of 14 students at CU Boulder is 
impressive, important and will help lead the United States to a future 
of greater energy independence and greater security.

                          ____________________