Sunnyvale, Calif. – On Saturday, May 5, seven high school teams competed in a series of challenges with electric bikes they built to win scholarship prizes. Funded with $1,000 from Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), students had 3 months to build an e-bike, a bicycle with an integrated electric motor that can be used for propulsion, and demonstrate their science, technology, engineering and creativity. The winning teams of this engineering challenge won scholarship prizes of $5,000, $3,500, and $2,000 for first, second and third place, respectively.
The first-place team was the Fremont High School “Fire E-gles”, the Mountain View High School Spartans took second, and the Saratoga High School “E-FISH” and “Fastastic Falcons” both tied for third, each earning prizes for their teams. The “Fastastic Falcons” from Saratoga High School were awarded with the School Spirit Award for demonstrating excellent school pride and team resilience. Participating high schools also included Alta Vista, Los Altos and Milpitas.
Bike to the Future was hosted at Gilroy Gardens, and brought together students, families, elected officials and members of the public to watch as the e-bike riders ran through an acceleration challenge, obstacle course, range test and presentation of their e-bike.
“Bike to the Future provided our local high school students the opportunity to connect design and engineering in a hands-on way, while also learning about the benefits of e-bikes as an alternative form of transportation,” says SVCE CEO Girish Balachandran.
“Now that SVCE is providing most of the communities in Santa Clara County with carbon-free electricity, transportation is one of the next big sectors the agency aims to address.
These students began with little to no background knowledge of e-bikes and were able to become experts in just a few months. Hosting this competition was a great outlet for them to showcase their hard work, and hopefully pursue a clean energy career.”
This free event also featured a clean commuting fair where guests could learn more about alternative transportation from community partners including Breathe California, Electric Vehicle Entrepreneurs, ELV Motors, Safe Routes to School, Silicon Valley Energy Watch and VTA.
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
Community Outreach Manager
pamela.leonard@svcleanenergy.org
O: 408-721-5301 x1004
