We attended the Solar Decathlon in 2007, and will be going back this year as well. Small, experimental solar homes have been designed and partially assembled at each team's schools, and will be reassembled and completed on the National Mall, near the Smithsonian Institute Castle and the nearby Metro Station, for exhibition and judging. There were some seminars and presentations available in 2007, but we were more interested in the houses.

Practical notes: Lines can get long for popular entries, and are longer on the weekend. A very few food vendors were nearby, and a few portable toilets were available. We walked several blocks to the Old Post Office Pavilion food court, where we were searched before being admitted. So leave your peacemaker and brass knuckles at home.

Press release:

DOE's Solar Decathlon to Highlight Innovation, Future Green Jobs International student competition set for National Mall, Oct. 9-18 2009 (closed Wed, Oct 14th)

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy today announced this year's participants and dates for DOE's 2009 Solar Decathlon, a competition that challenges students to design and develop houses that can provide their own energy from the sunlight - a clean, renewable source of energy. The twenty collegiate teams from the United States, Canada, Spain and Germany will each build a completely self-sufficient solar powered house, showcasing energy-efficient amenities and smart home systems that provide reduced carbon emissions without sacrificing the comfort of modern conveniences.

"The Solar Decathlon highlights President Obama's goal of improving our national security and transforming the economy by using off-the-shelf, clean energy technologies to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil, reduce our carbon emissions, and protect the environment," said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "As part of the building competition, the next generation of green engineers, architects, designers, and professionals gain valuable experience that will help them to lead America toward a clean energy future."

DOE's Solar Decathlon, which takes place October 9-18 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., consists of 10 individual contests that evaluate the teams' skills in architecture, home design, and communications. The homes constructed by the teams must produce enough electricity and hot water from solar panels to perform all the normal functions of a home -- from powering the lights; to cooking, washing clothes and dishes; to powering home electronics; and maintaining a comfortable temperature. This year, a new net-metering contest will evaluate each home's ability to produce its own power. The competition focuses on cutting edge energy efficient and renewable energy innovation while providing a unique green jobs training opportunity for each of the students.

The start of the competition marks the culmination of more than two years of hard work by the student teams. The twenty teams will assemble their homes on the National Mall in early October. Following the Opening Ceremony on October 8, the homes will be open for public tours October 9-13 and 15-18.

This is DOE's fourth Solar Decathlon competition since premiering in 2002 with subsequent competitions in 2005 and 2007. On average, each Solar Decathlon competition has drawn more than 100,000 visitors to the National Mall.

The Solar Decathlon is sponsored by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, in partnership with its National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which manages the event. For more information, please visit http://www.solardecathlon.org/.