by Brianna Crandall — October 29, 2014—Innovative projects are now in the works from this year’s P3 teams to develop a new solar device for generating electricity from sunlight that could be used on exterior walls of buildings; outline integrated measures colleges and municipalities can take to reduce overall road salt use; and achieve a reduction in energy consumption through air handling unit (AHU) system performance improvement (through wireless monitoring) while considering occupant comfort level.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced up to $15,000 for each of 42 student teams from colleges and universities across the country to pursue projects such as the ones highlighted above that deliver sustainable, alternative approaches to address environmental challenges as part of EPA’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) program.
Past P3 teams have used their winning ideas to form small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Environmental Fuel Research, a 2008 P3 winner from Drexel University, incorporated their grease waste-trap biofuel technology into a business enterprise and won a $100,000 EPA Small Business Innovation Research Phase I award this year. This startup, headquartered in a historically underutilized business (HUB) zone to encourage economic development, has the potential to revolutionize domestic biodiesel capacity in the United States, says EPA.
Since 2004, the P3 program has provided funding to student teams in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, committing over $10 million to cutting-edge, sustainable projects designed by university students. In the first phase of funding, student teams submit a proposal for a project. Those selected compete with other Phase I winners at the National Sustainable Design Expo in Washington, DC, for Phase II funding of up to $75,000.
More information on the 2014 P3 Phase I project grantees is available from the EPA P3 Web site.
