Team from Homestead High School wins top prize in Bike to the Future
Sunnyvale, CA – On April 27, Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) hosted its second Bike to the Future electric bike scholarship competition. Bike to the Future provides local students with a STEAM learning opportunity, as the competition requires students to convert a regular bike to electric, from scratch.
16 high school teams competed in a series of challenges to determine the top three electric bikes to win scholarship prizes of $7,500, $5,000 and $3,500 for first, second and third place, respectively. The winners are:
1st place – Team IYA Industries from Homestead High School
2nd Place – Team Spartans from Mountain View High School
3rd Place – Team BBB from Branham High School
The competition also included teams from the following schools: Calaveras Hills High School, Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy, Fremont High School, Leigh High School, Live Oak High School, Milpitas High School, Mountain View High School and Saratoga High School.
The team that won the School Spirit Award for showcasing exemplary school pride with their bike, outfits and attitude, were the Mustang Riders from Homestead High School.
“SVCE’s Bike to the Future provides an opportunity for high school students to learn about alternate transportation and the importance of clean electricity,” said Margaret Abe-Koga, SVCE Board Chair and Vice Mayor for the City of Mountain View. “It was inspiring to see so many students participate this year, and I was extremely impressed by their enthusiasm and the innovative solutions they presented to meet the challenges of the event. I’m also proud of our Mountain View team winning second place, Go Spartans!”
Students in the SVCE service area were invited to take part in this hands-on learning experience to connect design and engineering in a fun and unique way. Over the course of a few months, student teams were provided with up to $1,000 to explore and learn about electric bicycle technology by building their own e-bike from start to finish. Bike to the Future allows students to showcase their e-bike design, innovative engineering solutions and school spirit.
The challenges included an acceleration test to award the team whose bike went from zero to 20 miles per hour the quickest, an obstacle course to test their bike’s maneuverability, and a battery range test to identify the most efficient batteries. Finally, students had to present innovative strategies how we could achieve a clean transportation future and showcase posters outlining how they built their e-bikes.
This competition is organized by Silicon Valley Clean Energy, the community-owned electricity provider for a majority of Santa Clara County communities. In addition to providing carbon-free electricity, the mission of SVCE is to cut fossil fuels from buildings and transportation. This event engages students to think about the policies and innovations required to help achieve the carbon emission reductions needed to combat climate change.
Event photos and video are available here.
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About Silicon Valley Clean Energy
Silicon Valley Clean Energy is a community-owned agency serving the majority of Santa Clara County communities by acquiring clean, carbon-free electricity on behalf of residents and businesses. As a public agency, net revenues are returned to the community to keep rates low and promote clean energy programs. Member jurisdictions include Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Saratoga, Sunnyvale and unincorporated Santa Clara County. SVCE is guided by a Board of Directors, which is comprised of a representative from the governing body of each member community. For more information, please visit SVCleanEnergy.org.
MEDIA CONTACT
Pamela Leonard
Communications Manager
408-721-5301 ext. 1004
pamela.leonard@svcleanenergy.org
