The new solar innovation or sustainable construction material is surely in development as you read this article, and the state of California wants to incentive it’s progress.
A $5 million grant from the state will bring a California Sustainability Decathlon to Orange County in 2023, with the goal to “motivate and empower California’s best and brightest to lead the state’s transition to 100 percent renewables,” according to the O.C. Register.
The project was shepherded into the California budget by Sen. Dave Min, with Chapman University Professors Fred Smoller and Mike Moodian winning the $5 million grant to get the competition off the ground. Smoller and Moodian, along with Richard King, created the Solar Decathlon for the U.S. Department of Energy, upon which the state event is being modeled.
According to the O.C. Register, sustainability competitions like these have helped bring critical innovation including ultra-high-efficient heating and air conditioning units, triple-pane windows and super-insulated homes to market.
Teams in the California Sustainability Decathlon will compete for $100,000 each to help move their visions into reality.
For more information, click here.