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.
Group member Tatiana Huet de Bacellar said the project exposed them to how energy solutions can bring communities into a more equitable space by providing jobs and healthy environment.
“We were able to take pre-existing energy infrastructure that has been deemed bad, and it is bad, coal is not the way of the future, and instead of demolishing it, actually use it for its intended purpose of providing energy,” she said. “I thought that was really awesome.”
McCalla said community involvement in energy solutions is critical. If the energy solution doesn’t embed with what the community wants, there’s a risk of failing to complete the project.
“Communities not only need to be consulted, they need to be part of the solution,” McCalla said.
In addition to the $10,000 prize, the group received a $1,000 donation to give to a charity of their choice, and the group chose the Sun Valley Kitchen & Community Center.
CU Boulder students Patrick Fegan and Andrew Bayliss were also on the team. Each member has a different background and degree path, but share an interest in sustainable energy. The prize money is awarded to the five team members for personal use to cover things including car repairs and tuition.
“It was just a really fantastic opportunity, and it was an opportunity that I think is making me more excited to graduate and actually join the workforce and get involved in projects like this,” Cummins said.
