Cal Poly Wind Power Club starts prepping for student competitions 

Propelled by a passion for wind farm development, one student-led Cal Poly group is already preparing for the upcoming 2024 Collegiate Wind Competition.

The Cal Poly Wind Power Club, which consists of about 40 students, entered its first competition last year and took first place in two categories: connection creation and turbine development.

Connection creation looks at how the teams connect with industry members to learn more about careers and paths in the wind energy industry and how the teams go into the community and spread the word and educate others about wind energy.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Cody Firman
• SAY, 'WIND POWER' The Cal Poly Wind Power Club is currently preparing for its upcoming 2024 Collegiate Wind Competition that will take place in May during the Clean Power Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

"We've been hosting events that involve discussion about [the Morro Bay] wind farm, and we've been reaching out to industry people to have them come and discuss [ways]to get students connected," Cody Firman, outreach officer for the club, told New Times. "We recently had Equinor—they're a wind farm company—speak to us about the challenges of getting a wind farm."

Firman, a sophomore engineering student, said while the club is mostly composed of fellow engineering students, there's room for everyone, as there's different responsibilities to help make it to this year's competition.

"A lot of the turbine design part is engineering, but one of the other parts is project development in that you plan and design a mock wind farm wherever the competition says. So, like last year, it was supposed to be one of the Great Lakes, so we researched the Great Lakes," he said. "We also had to base our project on a bunch of different factors, whether it's environmental or public opinion, and so all majors can help with those, like earth and soils and environmental management."

When it comes to preparing for competitions, Firman said it's a lengthy process. During summer break, the club's president has to sign up for the competition and wait for acceptance. Phase 2 comes in December, where all first-draft reports and project designs have to be submitted to competition staff to show how progress is coming.

Following that comes phase 3, where all final reports are submitted a couple of weeks before the competition.

And then it's go time.

"Rules get released in September, and since we're on a quarter system we go and dive right into it rather than starting in August and waiting a month," he said. "So, this year we know that instead of a fixed-bottom and testing things like turbines, we'll have to design something that's floating, kind of like what's happening in Morro Bay.

"We just have to adapt to where we can put our wind turbine, and we're pretty excited."

Last year the team spent a week in Minnesota for the competition and this year's is expected to be held in Phoenix, Arizona, at the Clean Power Conference in May.

Fast facts

• An Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy is making its way to the Monday Club in SLO for adults 21 and over, featuring storytelling by Poe historians paired with specialized cocktails. The event is designed to transport community members to a bygone era while enjoying craft cocktails inspired by four of Poe's most famous stories. The event runs from Sept. 19 to 21. For information and tickets, find the event on feverup.com.

• The SLO Gem and Mineral Club is holding a show featuring an array of gems, minerals, fossils, carvings, jewelry, beads, crystals, meteorites, and more at the San Luis Obispo Veterans Memorial Building on Sept. 28 and 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5, and children 12 and under are free. For more information, visit slogem.org/gems-by-the-sea. Δ

Reach Staff Writer Samantha Herrera at [email protected].