The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon has announced the dates for its 2011 event. They are:

• Opening ceremony: Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011
• Public exhibit: Sept. 23 through Oct. 2, 2011.

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 will be held at the National Mall’s West Potomac Park, on the banks of the Potomac River along the path between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials.  Specifically, the event will be held on the peninsula just south of the new Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial – scheduled to open in August of this year – between the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and the Potomac River. The Decathlon will begin in late September as originally scheduled.

On Thursday, Jan. 13, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) hosted Green Day for International Builders’ Show (IBS) attendees, which included a media open house for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. This event offered media the opportunity to meet with the teams, learn about their accomplishments, and receive a personal overview of the scale models on exhibit. Richard King kicked off the event.

Mark Taylor, assistant professor of architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, explains Re_home’s concept.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy helped kick off the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Florida, with an educational session titled "The New Class of Affordable Solar Housing."  Led by Solar Decathlon Director Richard King and featuring students from five Solar Decathlon 2011 teams, the session raised awareness among building industry professionals about energy efficiency and solar energy. 

Representatives of the teams selected to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 will travel to Orlando, Florida, in January 2011 for the International Builders’ Show (IBS). Sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders, the IBS is the largest annual construction conference in the world.

As the sun rose brightly over the Villa Solar, I could feel the excitement building among the decathletes—for in just a few hours, the first Solar Decathlon Europe would have its historic opening. After last-minute cleaning up, decathletes emerged from their houses dressed in team uniforms and lined up in front of the stage.

If you want to create a lot of energy, put 200 student decathletes and faculty from around the world in one room and feel the excitement rise from all the conversations.  Too bad there isn’t a way to tap that energy. Actually we do—each time we hold a Solar Decathlon workshop!

On May 11, the National Building Museum presented the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon with a 2010 Honor Award, which recognizes individuals and organizations for making significant contributions to our nation’s building heritage through unique social and civic innovations.

The Solar Decathlon was honored for its commitment to educating the next generation of engineers, architects, and builders through a creative “whole-building approach” with renewable energy, energy-efficient, and environmentally responsible systems.

On May 1, the National Building Museum opened U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 Finalists: A Special Presentation. The exhibition features models of conceptual designs for solar-powered houses from the 20 collegiate teams competing in Solar Decathlon 2011. From now until the event opens on the National Mall in fall 2011, teams will transform these ideas into solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive.