Spotlights - UMaine’s AEWC Hosts High School Wind Blade Challenge

Chris Pickering and Blaine West from Sumner Memorial High School (East Sullivan, Maine) were the winners of the Maine High School Wind Blade Challenge held in May.

Eighteen Maine high schools and vocational centers participated in the statewide competition, sponsored by the Maine North Star Alliance Initiative and the Maine Composites Alliance (Portland, Maine).

Each attempted to design the most efficient wind blade possible from identical kits of composite materials provided by Maine-based suppliers, including Harbor Technologies Inc. and OCV Technical Fabrics, both of Brunswick.

The winning team, built a five-bladed rotor that earned the highest power-generation scores: 66.56 Watt/minutes and peak Watts of 23.91.

Plans for next year’s competition are underway and students likely will be asked not only to design a wind blade, but to mount it for use in deep waters.