ECSE Future Energy Challenge 2009 Summary

Prof. Grahame Holmes is the coordinator for Topic B and has run student projects in prior challenges with the students winning many awards.

In 2005 the student team won 1st Place for Topic B (Utility Interactive Inverter Challenge): A High Efficiency, Low Cost, Utility Interactive Inverter. 

In 2007 the student team was awarded "Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award" for their Universal Adapting Battery Charger

More details about the The 2009 International Future Energy Challenge sponsored by the IEEE Power Electronics Society, and the Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) are located at

http://www.energychallenge.org/

The competition finals for topic B described below will be located in the ECSE department at clayton campus in July 2009.

Topic (B) Low Cost Wind Turbine Energy Maximizer: The objective of this topic is to foster innovation in low power wind turbine generation systems for remote, rural and small urban applications. The goal is to construct a power electronic interface converter for a wind generation system that will support and protect the system operation under all operating conditions; achieve maximum energy transfer when charging a 12V battery over a wide range of wide speeds, without overcharging or damaging the battery; reliably operate without significant user support over many years of use; be a leading edge solution in the areas of performance, reliability, and safety. The design is supposed to be for minimum weight, minimum component cost and count, to achieve reduced high volume manufacturing cost..