Students Team Up With Manufacturers to Design Wind Turbine Blades, Floating Structures

April 30, 2012
From North American Wind Power

Over 250 students representing 85 teams competed in the fourth annual competition to design composite wind turbine blades and floating wind structures, the Maine Wind Industry Initiative reports.

The event, which was held at the University of Maine, partnered high school teams with Maine advanced composites manufacturers to research, design and manufacture model wind turbine blades. Each team competed to generate the most energy over a two-minute period and made presentations illustrating the research, design and engineering processes.

The students designed and constructed a floating platform for a model wind turbine and delivered a business plan and sales pitch to a panel of expert judges. Teams were critiqued on the technical feasibility and aesthetic design of their platform, as well as the quality of their sales pitch.

Easton High School won first place in the Maine Wind Blade Challenge, and Madison Area Memorial High School took first place in the Wind Storm Challenge.