History
In 2021, three UTD students working in Dr. Todd Griffith’s wind energy research lab came together to apply to be in the Department of Energy’s Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC). The group was accepted as a Learn-Along team and they worked together to bring on three more students to design a modest but respectable small-scale wind turbine. Motivated by their first year of competing, the students formed an official student organization in Fall 2022. The Wind Energy Club, also known as Comet Wind, is now comprised of over 30 students who are passionate about wind energy and compete in the three sub-contests of the CWC.
Accolades
- Advanced to Phase 2 in the 2023 and 2024 Collegiate Wind Competition
- Amassed over 1.7 million views across our social media accounts
- Awarded over $18,000 in funding from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Turbine Design
The Turbine Design contest of the CWC involves the design, analysis, fabrication, and testing of a small-scale wind turbine prototype across multiple sub-contests. This turbine is evaluated on its power production, speed control, durability and safety characteristics during the final round of wind tunnel testing at the competition stage.
Our Turbine Design team is comprised of 20 mechanical and electrical engineering students who work together on various aspects of the turbine, including the wind turbine blades, power-capturing electronics and offshore-ready foundation structure.
Project Development
The Project Development Contest covers all aspects of wind farm development. The CWC asks students to design a fixed, offshore wind farm in a given area and to provide analytics of the wind farm over the course of 20 years.
Our Project Development team requires students from the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering & Computer Science, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Naveen Jindal School of Management at UTD to tackle the environmental and financial aspects of this project. At the end of the competition, the team is expected to justify the feasibility of the wind farm which involves researching wind conditions, turbine foundations, transmission, construction, market conditions, economic policies, and more.
Connection Creation
Outreach is the foundation of the Connection Creation contest. We teach about wind energy at local events, share the progress of the Comet Wind team on social media, and create/share opportunities for Wind Energy Club members to get involved in the wind industry. In doing so, we hope to forge a strong local wind energy community.
So far, our Connection Creation team is most proud of the connections we’ve made with young students. By hosting wind energy related engineering workshops, Comet Wind has made an impact at local community centers, nonprofit organizations, and schools.
Read More
- National Turbine Competition Stirs Up UTD Enthusiasm for Wind Energy
- UTD Students Shine in National Competitions
- UTD Team Story, Collegiate Wind Competition 2023