The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Rice University’s Rice Wind Energy as one of 12 teams advancing to the final phase of the 2025 Collegiate Wind Competition. Designed to prepare students for careers in the wind energy industry, the final competition will take place at the CLEANPOWER 2025 Conference and Exhibition in Phoenix this spring. The teams will compete in wind turbine design and testing, wind farm project development and community outreach contests.
This marks only the third year of Rice Wind Energy’s participation in the competition. While it often takes time for new teams to build knowledge and momentum in order to reach the final phase, Rice Wind Energy managed to overcome this hurdle in just its second year as an organization. Building on their success as 2024 finalists, the team has expanded its membership and refined its strategies, applying lessons learned to improve all facets of their work.
“It’s worth noting how unique their success has been,” said faculty adviser David Trevas, a lecturer in mechanical engineering at Rice. “They’ve built this organization from the ground up in a short time period and have this incredible dedication to creating something that can be continually improved upon by new students year after year.”
The 2025 competition focuses on the challenges associated with floating offshore wind energy projects, a critical area for advancing renewable energy technologies. Teams are judged on three key categories: engineering, project development and outreach. The engineering component requires teams to design and test a wind turbine optimizing power output, floating stability and emergency shutdown capabilities. The project development category evaluates wind farm feasibility, including environmental impact and long-term financial planning. This year, the competition introduced a community agreement initiative to integrate public and industry input into the project. Lastly, the outreach category, known as “Connection Creation,” assesses efforts to engage both the university community and broader communities with activities such as hosting industry panels and raising awareness of sustainability in local schools.
A key strength of Rice Wind Energy is its interdisciplinary approach, with the team including over 40 students from more than 15 majors. From designing and building the wind turbine, developing economic models and handling regulatory and public engagement strategies, the team’s diverse skill set provides a comprehensive understanding of wind energy development from concept to execution.
“We are taking a full-circle approach — looking at everything from wind turbine design to financial planning and community outreach,” said Raj Anthony, marketing and development lead for Rice Wind Energy and a senior majoring in electrical and computer engineering. “We want to provide an avenue for anyone at Rice to have the ability to impact the renewable energy industry.”
This year, Rice Wind Energy fine-tuned its operations by creating additional subteams to focus on different aspects of the project. They also decided to build a generator in-house instead of purchasing one online, allowing for more precise calibration between turbine blades and electrical systems. Recognizing that past winning teams incorporated a variable load system into their designs, the Owls set an ambitious goal to develop their own. Thanks to hard work and an influx of new members, they not only met this challenge but say they exceeded their own expectations, successfully creating the technology in just two months.
“Passion breeds progress,” said Jason Yang, vice president of Rice Wind Energy and a senior majoring in electrical and computer engineering. “When people are excited about something, others follow. That’s what has made our team so successful.”
To support its growing membership, the team introduced new leadership structures and meeting formats. Drop-in work sessions provide a four-hour window where members can collaborate across subteams, fostering teamwork and knowledge sharing. Members can also attend specific time slots based on their interests such as PCB design, software development or component stress analysis, ensuring a more tailored learning experience. The leadership team has also expanded to 17 members, offering more students meaningful roles and opportunities for involvement. Additionally, the team has integrated outreach efforts by assigning representatives from each subteam to the “Connection Creation” team, ensuring cohesive communication and collaboration across all areas.
Rice Wind Energy also prides itself on its commitment to inclusion, and its leadership reflects strong gender and racial diversity.
“This type of representation across backgrounds, identities, ethnicities and even academic disciplines reflects the community here at Rice and ultimately strengthens our team,” said Esther Fahel, president of Rice Wind Energy and a senior majoring in mechanical engineering.
Driven by the challenge of not being able to test their full-scale design on campus due to size limitations in Rice’s current wind tunnel, members of the Rice Wind Energy team have taken their task a step further and embarked on a large-scale project to build a new wind tunnel at Rice. Previously, the team had to travel hours to another university for testing, facing significant logistical hurdles. The new wind tunnel will not only enable on-campus wind turbine testing but also serve as cutting-edge research equipment, benefiting faculty and other student design teams by expanding opportunities for innovation and hands-on experimentation.
“We really wanted to have the ability to test our complete design here at Rice, so a group of us decided to build a research-grade wind tunnel,” said Anthony. “We had it approved as a senior design project, are nearly finished with our design and are preparing to build it. Our goal is to give Rice Wind Energy and other design teams the ability to test on campus for years to come and also to greatly expand possibilities for aerodynamics and renewable energy research for faculty and future students.”
As the team prepares for the final competition in May, they are also working to raise funds to travel to the event, which offers vital networking and career opportunities. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s 2024 Wind Energy Workforce Assessment, the industry will need to train and hire up to 125,000 new workers by 2030. As the wind energy sector grows, competitions like the Collegiate Wind Competition play a crucial role in workforce development.
Regardless of the outcome, Rice’s team says they are thankful for the many lessons they have learned along the way. Fahel, Anthony and Yang have all secured jobs in the wind energy sector after graduation, and they say that their experiences leading Rice Wind Energy will serve as valuable foundations for their future roles.
“Our team thrives on momentum and collaboration,” Fahel said. “We realize our competitive ambitions through our passion and camaraderie. Every member offers unique contributions, and our experience in Rice Wind Energy has given us teamwork skills that will stay with us as we move forward in our careers.”