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Nov. 14—A team of five graduate students from the University of Colorado Boulder won $10,000 for their proposed solution to repurpose a decommissioned Denver power plant with clean energy.
The team, called the Green Grad Buffs, entered a virtual competition hosted by the AES Corporation, a global company that focuses on sustainable energy.
The competition, called the AES Innovation Challenge, tasks university students with developing a novel solution to a problem in the energy industry. The solution is hypothetical, with the goal to inspire students think strategically and explore potential solutions to problems in their communities.
There were 18 universities from 10 states that participated, with 57 teams and 234 participants, and the CU Boulder team won the top prize.
"It's something that we're all pretty proud of and is something that's inspiring a lot of future work for us," group member Emily Cummins said.
The group's proposed solution was to repurpose the infrastructure at the Zuni Power Plant in the Sun Valley neighborhood in Denver by using clean energy technology to replace coal. They also pitched the idea of creating a community center that could house a Colorado energy museum, training programs, meeting spaces or be used as warming or cooling centers.
Madelka McCalla, chief corporate affairs and impact officer at AES, said the Green Grad Buff's solution was realistic, comprehensive and community-focused.
"They provided a solution that considered the energy transition and how to leverage that existing infrastructure," McCalla said. "But what was more important for us ... was the energy solution was not their focal point, rather the Sun Valley community."
Group member Tom Hill said the idea to propose a solution for the Zuni Power Plant came after the whole team had visited Sun Valley through a class last semester. According to the Denver Housing Authority, more than 80% of Sun Valley residents live below the poverty line, and the neighborhood represents 33 different cultural backgrounds and speaks more than 28 languages.
"We were intrigued by opportunities there but also the challenge to try to work in community benefit," Hill said.
Cummins said the group looked at news articles, quotes from community leaders and other documentation to get to know the community members and their thoughts on the power plant.
"We didn't design this with the expectation that Denver would actually move forward with it, but we'd love to hear feedback from them," Cummins said.