North Carolina high school students make electric cars go!

June 5, 2000

The EV Challenge is a yearlong educational program for North Carolina high school students conceived by Carolina Power and Light that is centered on the design and construction of full-sized, street legal electric vehicles. Students at individual high schools spend several months converting an existing gasoline vehicle into a fully functioning and efficient electric vehicle. Then, they complete various related activities throughout the year, including the design of an informational website about their electric vehicle program, the preparation of a public, oral presentation, and the development of an environmental science project that demonstrates how electric vehicles can solve an environmental problem.

At year's end, they participate in a two-day final event that incorporates judging of their yearlong activities and competition in various performance categories. Design elements are evaluated, and vehicles are driven in both a timed autocross event and a distance event where the vehicle's effective operating range is put to the test.

Bob Zickefoose of Advanced Energy has been heavily involved with the EV Challenge since its inception in 1996 and with previous electric vehicle student events and activities since 1993. He ran the event the last two years and played a key role in its planning this year. Bob led an all star panel of Industrial Solutions Team members in judging of vehicle design and completion of vehicle safety inspections. Ray Eshraghi, Dan Welch, Ewan Pritchard, Roy Miller, Rod Simpkins, and John Morrison were all on hand to help with the judging. The gang even had the chance to try out an electric powered foot scooter for their efforts!

Northern Vance High School won the title of Carolina EV Challenge Champion for the second consecutive year, winning first place overall, while Garner High School placed second and Northhampton-East High School placed third. The Winston-Salem/Forsyth Career Center took the Rookie School of the Year award.

Advanced Energy is a gold partner for this event. Other major partners are Progress Energy, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Energy Division of the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

Advanced Energy applauds both the interested and innovative youths that took part in this year's EV Challenge and Progress Energy for getting this program powered up and moving down the road. We look forward to being a major partner in this effort for years to come, to being a driving force in this vehicle for successful change. And, we're off! (Vroom, vroom. . .)

For more information on the EV Challenge and on this year's results, please visit the EV Challenge website at www.rtpnet.org/~ev or contact the director, Eric Ryan, at 530-898-1493 or earyan@worldnet.att.net . To learn more about Advanced Energy's involvement in this program, please contact Advanced Energy at (919) 857-9000.

Some information in this article was taken from the EV Challenge website at www.rtpnet.org/~ev .