With funding from the North Carolina Renewable Ocean Energy Program and in partnership with KidWind and Jennette’s Pier, the Coastal Studies Institute (CSI) hosts the day-long North Carolina Renewable Energy Challenge annually on the ECU Outer Banks Campus in Wanchese. Competing students must engineer an alternative energy device and compete against each other to create the most efficient design. The challenge strives to increase student interest in green technology and promote innovation, and it fosters 21st-century skills that better prepare students for the growing renewable energy industry.
This year’s event will include wind and underwater turbine competitions with upper elementary & middle (grades 4-8), and high school (grades 9-12) divisions for each. The competition aims to increase engineering solutions for the alternative energies available in North Carolina. Funding is available for basic competition materials and for travel to CSI. If teams wish to have funding for either, please contact Parker Murphy and John McCord.
The winning teams will receive cash prizes, and the top team(s) in each wind division will be invited to the World KidWind competition held in May 2025.