On March 15, qualifiers for the second edition of the PGE Wind Machine Tournament 2023 will begin. The task is to build a model of a wind turbine. This is an innovative technical competition to promote renewable energy sources, aimed at elementary and high school students from all over Poland.
Renewable energy sources are the future of the national economy. More and more green energy is being produced in Poland every year. The leader in this field is PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, whose wind and photovoltaic farms already produce enough energy to meet the annual energy demand for the Łódź province. With the development of RES in Poland, the demand for specialized personnel is growing. That’s why PGE is committed to popularizing this topic among children and young people – said Wojciech Dąbrowski, President of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna.
The competition task is to build a model of a turbine that converts kinetic wind energy into mechanical energy. The finished machines are tested on a unique measuring stand in three competitions: highest rotational speed, highest power, highest torque with the turbine shaft stopped. The sum of points earned in each competition determines the place in the general classification. During the competition, videos and animations explaining the various stages of turbine construction will be published in social media, TikTok and Facebook, and on the pgeturniejmaszyn.pl website.
Applications are currently being accepted for the first stage of the competition, which will be held in the form of regional eliminations in: Siedlce (March 15), Wrocław (March 17), Poznań (March 18), Szczecin (March 20), Wejherowo (March 22), Końskie (March 24) Jarosław (March 25), Katowice (March 27). The best 50 teams selected during the preliminaries will get the right to compete in the national final, which will be held on April 24 at the Copernicus Science Center in Warsaw.
Attractive prizes await the participants. Winners of the regional preliminaries will receive power tools, which will be used by young constructors to create new projects
and develop technical interests. Furthermore, winners of the final tournament will receive cash vouchers worth: 1st place 3000 PLN, 2nd place 2000 PLN, 3rd place 1500 PLN, 4th place 800 PLN, 5th place 400 PLN.
As organizers, we are pleased with the continuous development of the competition. Every year we observe an increase in the number of participants and level of sophistication of turbines prepared by the students. We are also pleased that the tournament contributes to increasing interest in technical subjects. As teachers tell us, students’ participation in our competitions has contributed to the re-equipping of technical labs in their schools – said Piotr Jarek, president of the Piaseczno Ecological Foundation.
In 2022, the first edition of PGE Wind Machine Tournament attracted more than 1,000 students and teachers from all over Poland, who prepared a total of 351 wind turbines. The final of last year’s edition was held at the National Museum of Technology in Warsaw.
The organizer of the PGE Wind Machine Tournament 2023 is Piaseczno Ecological Foundation. PGE Foundation is the Strategic Partner of the competition. The Regional Partner of the event is the Regional Operational Program of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship 2014-2020. The project is co-financed by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. Patrons of honor of the event are Przemysław Czarnek, Minister of Education and Science, Konstanty Radziwill, Mazovia Province Governor, Olgierd Geblewicz, Marshall of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. For the first time in the competition’s history, it is also under the honorary patronage of the Warsaw University of Technology.
Source: PGE
