The 12 finalist teams will compete throughout the spring and present their work during the American Clean Power Association's CLEANPOWER 2025 Conference and Exhibition.
Wind Energy Technologies Office
January 17, 2025
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United States have won Phase 2 of the 2025 Collegiate Wind
Competition. Graphic by Katie Carney, NREL
Congratulations are in order! The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the 12 winning teams for Phase 2 of the 2025 Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC).
An annual competition held since 2014, the CWC prepares students from colleges and universities across the United States for jobs in the wind energy industry by giving them real-world wind energy experience in subjects such as technical design and project management.
The CWC 2025 Phase 2 winners are:
- Brigham Young University
- California Maritime Academy
- California Polytechnic State University
- Iowa State University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Kansas State University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Pennsylvania State University
- Rice University
- University of Massachusetts Lowell
- The University of Texas at Dallas
- Virginia Tech
The finalists were chosen from 35 Phase 1 winners based on their submissions in four areas: prototype wind turbine design, turbine testing, hypothetical offshore wind farm planning, and community/industry outreach.
Each winning team receives a cash prize of up to $15,000 per team and advances to Phase 3, where they will refine their wind turbine prototypes, present hypothetical wind farm sites, and illustrate their community outreach plans. Teams not selected can still participate in the competition as learn-along teams but won’t be eligible for any awards.
The final event in the competition will be held at the American Clean Power Association's CLEANPOWER 2025 Conference and Exhibition in Phoenix, Arizona, where final winners will be selected, including overall first-, second-, and third-place teams.
The CWC prepares students for careers in the growing wind energy sector. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's 2024 National Wind Energy Workforce Assessment, estimates show that the total number of workers in 2030 will be about 258,000, requiring the wind industry to train and hire up to 125,000 new workers to meet the demand. Through hands-on learning, the competition helps students gain the skills and experience needed to fill these critical roles.
The competition is funded by DOE's Wind Energy Technologies Office and managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Sign up for email alerts to never miss a CWC update. To find more opportunities for students to gain renewable energy experience while still in school, visit DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Student Competitions and Prizes page. For updates on DOE's Wind Energy Technologies Office activities, subscribe to the Catch the Wind newsletter.