Applied Materials’ president of Solar, Dr. Charlie Gay along withPeking University’s president, Zhou Qifeng; China’s National EnergyAdministration (NEA) chief engineer and director of the internationalcooperation department, Wu Guihui; U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE)China office executive director, Martin Schoenbauer and otherrepresentatives of NEA and the university kicked off the Chinese SolarDecathlon competition with a dedication ceremony in Beijing, China thisweek.

The group is pictured above watering a large spinningsunflower symbolic of the opportunities for the U.S. and China to worktogether on clean energy solutions.

Peking University and Applied Materials, with support from the U.S. DOE and China’s NEA, will collaborate to design a program and ensure a successful implementation by 2013 of the Chinese SolarDecathlon competition that will challenge students to design and build a self-sufficient house powered by the sun.

The Solar Decathlon China will be an international collegiate competition with the aim ofadvancing knowledge and adoption of sustainable building design.Particular emphasis will be paid to the development of high efficiencyand energy self-sufficiency solutions including green buildingmaterials, solar power solutions, water sustainability and wastemanagement technologies.

The competition will provide China withan opportunity to showcase advancements in technology and design andhost an international competition for the world’s most prestigiousuniversities. It will also help raise awareness among the general public about the benefits of solar energy and clean tech solutions.

Decathletes, rev-up, form a team, create a solution and change the world!

Good luck and see you in 2013.

Shine on!

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