More than 100,000 people are expected to visit Orange County Great Park in Irvine this week for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, which challenges 20 collegiate teams to design, build and operate solar-powered homes.
The 10-day event, which begins Oct. 3, will be the first Solar Decathlon outside of Washington, D.C. It gives the county a chance to market itself to a global audience while showcasing local technology, products, arts, education and business opportunities related to clean and renewable energy generation and efficiency.
Some of the teams include the California Institute of Technology, University of Southern California, the Southern California Institute of Architecture and Stanford University.
Here’s a sneak peek at some of the designs:
• SoCal Institute and Caltech collaborated to develop a house made of canopies and two prefab modules that run on a system of rails, allowing the structure to adapt to weather changes and to increase square footage in minutes.
• Middlebury College in Vermont created a walkway made of solar panels leading to its house and a roof made from sustainable materials that insulates and protects the structure from winter winds.
• Students from the University of Louisville, Ball State University and the University of Kentucky worked together on a home built to sustain natural disasters, such as tornadoes, fires and floods.
• The design by Arizona State University and the University of New Mexico focuses on shade and features a solar canopy, modular furniture and building materials that redistribute energy.
The houses will be open to the public free of charge from Oct. 3-6 and Oct. 10-13, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The winner will be announced Oct. 12.
The Orange County Great Park Corporation board was awarded a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help plan and implement the XPO: Clean+Renewable+Efficient Energy Exposition and the Solar Decathlon at the former El Toro Marine base in Irvine.
China Trip
Western Digital Corp.’s board recently concluded a trip to China in a bid to strengthen business and political ties in a key manufacturing hub.
Directors from the Irvine-based disk drive maker traveled to Beijing and Shenzen for site visits and meetings with government officials.
Shenzen, north of Hong Kong, houses manufacturing plants of Western Digital’s Hitachi Global Storage Technology Ltd. unit, which it acquired last year for $4.3 billion.
In Beijing, the board discussed the country’s development and technology trends with a variety of international experts and Chinese leaders, including Vice Premier Wang Yang, according to a Western Digital news release.
The company also noted in the release that U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke hosted the board at a reception at his home in Beijing.
The release said former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who heads the Washington, D.C. consultancy Albright Stonebridge Group, also accompanied the board to Beijing.
Chris Casacchia can be reached at casacchia@ocbj.com.
