Published by Communications and Public Affairs 519 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338

News Release

February 22, 2007

U of G to Host High School Wind Energy Contest

High school students thinking green will have a chance to pocket some green at the University of Guelph’s first-ever wind energy design competition.

Competitors must design an energy-generating wind turbine to be tested in a wind tunnel on campus. The winning team will be the one whose windmill produces the highest average power output (judges will also consider design functionality, weight, stability and presentation).

Organizers in the School of Engineering expect up to 250 students from across Ontario to take part in the WindENG competition. Registration deadline for the contest is Feb. 28. Registered teams will be mailed a competition package including a DC motor and starter materials.

Entries will be judged on campus March 17 as part of College Royal, the University's annual student-run open house. The top three teams will win cash and merchandise prizes worth $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second place and $500 for third place.

“Harnessing wind energy is an exciting prospect for providing solutions to our province's energy needs,” said Prof. Warren Stiver, NSERC Chair in Environmental Design Engineering at U of G. “The objective of this competition is to promote interest in environmentally sound alternative energy solutions and foster engineering design skills.”

For more information, visit www.soe.uoguelph.ca/windeng or contact Andrea Woon-Fat, liaison officer, at 519-824-4120, Ext. 52436, or by e-mail, enginfo@uoguelph.ca.