Despite earlier announcements to the contrary, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Solar Decathlon 2011 will again be held at the National Mall, albeit at a different location: the Mall's West Potomac Park, the DOE and the U.S. Department of the Interior have announced.
The event will be held 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.
The DOE's Solar Decathlon is a competition that challenges collegiate students from across the globe to design, build and operate solar-powered houses that are affordable, highly energy-efficient, attractive and easy to live in. During the competition, 20 homes from 16 domestic and four international collegiate teams will undergo extensive testing and expert judging in 10 different contest categories. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.
