STAPLES SPECTACULAR STUDENT CHALLENGE 2010

Westport’s Commitment to Sustainability

From the very earliest days of our nation, and even before settlers arrived from Europe to the “New World,” Americans have struggled with the question of how to live most responsibly in their environment.  Our country, once called the “American Eden” by many idealists, enjoys a wealth of resources that are, nonetheless, neither limitless nor incorruptible.  And despite the iconic concept of American individualism, the notion that we can solve any problem, remaining disconnected from one another, has been proved false.  In recent decades, as industrialization has intensified, the balance between economic progress and protecting the environment has been threatened.  Concomitantly, the balance between individual freedoms and responsibility to society has been called into question. Some would say we are at a tipping point.  A change in habits and in mindset is essential.

Possible solutions pose their own difficulties.  Some are expensive.  Some ask personal sacrifice.  Some provide potential savings for the earth but do little to change habits.  Some Americans continue to view themselves as independent entities, isolated from their neighbors. 

In 2007, Westport adopted an updated Town Plan which endorsed a commitment to achieve ways to make Westport a “greener” place to live, highlighting several strategies to enhance sustainability and environmental preservation.  More specifically, Westport wants to implement a strategy that will accomplish the following objectives:

• Require the Westport community to reduce water and energy consumption, including carbon emissions by 10% by 2011.

• Source 20 % of the Town’s electrical use from renewable sources by 2010.

• Reduce each resident’s individual average carbon footprint by 10 %. (Currently each resident is estimated to produce 17 tons of carbon annually.)

• Design, at little or no additional cost to the town of Westport (through taxes etc.), and if possible, save the town of Westport money, a proposal to achieve these goals, noting that the Town Plan advocates directing 10% of the Town’s energy budget toward energy saving measures.

• Foster a greater sense of community in Westport and improve the quality of life of Westport’s residents

Your team has been asked by the town of Westport to develop an analysis of the issues and choose among three approaches that may improve the town as specified above.  Westport’s directive to you is to consider the culture of our particular community, the history of progressive movements in America, the nature of political systems, current philosophical strands in the Green movement, and the quantifiable impact of proposed changes.  With all these in mind, you are asked to determine which of the three following proposed strategies will most benefit the town. 

Strategy #1

Initiate a campaign to encourage homeowners to either grow a portion of their food on their property and/or identify other options for Westport residents to source their food locally.

Strategy #2

Initiate a campaign of household strategies that families should implement to reduce their environmental impact.  (ex. Changing light bulbs to CFL’s—what is the actual cost/benefit analysis associated with doing so)

Strategy #3

Implement a large scale photovoltaic (solar) system on the roof space of Staples High School and Bedford Middle School to generate a portion of the electric power required to operate both schools.

Your task is to evaluate the three strategies and ultimately determine which strategy or combination of strategies should be pursued by Westport.

For the food campaign, you must determine the productivity per square foot of residential grown food or determine the impact of purchasing more locally grown food.  You will need to translate the impact of these initiatives into energy savings, CO2 reduction and other benefits of consuming locally grown food versus purchasing food that is typically imported long distances to your major supermarkets.  Be sure to specify your assumptions when performing your calculations.  Secondly, once you have determined this, you need to calculate how extensive such a program would have to be in order to reduce Westport’s carbon footprint as specified in the objectives. 

For the household strategies campaign, you need to first research potential strategies and then develop your own list of the 5 actions you see as being most significant or impactful in helping Westport achieve its objectives.  Then determine the level of involvement that would be needed for Westport to reach its objective. For example, if you recommend the use of CFL light bulbs, you will need to assume an average number of bulbs used per household.  Are there policy incentives that the town could/should offer to encourage participation?

For the solar panel idea, you should evaluate two approaches: outright ownership of the solar system by the Town or contracting with a private company to install and operate the system. Under the town-owned scenario, the schools would use all the power generated by the solar system.  With a private owner the company would sell the power produced by the system back to the Town.  You will need to calculate the carbon savings and cost/savings of such a system over time.  You must also determine: if the proposed system would achieve a 10% reduction in carbon emissions and how best to finance the system.    Determine the payback period for the town with and without government supports. With expiration of the State of Connecticut Clean Energy fund credit, are there other government incentives that could be used to offset the cost of the system? Further, you should explore the benefits and drawbacks of having a private company utilize public roof space for such a solar system and the benefits and drawbacks of the town financing such projects. 

Your Response:

The above guidelines suggest quantifiable data you must include in your proposal.  However, your proposal must go beyond what is practical and quantifiable and place your solution in a social context.  Remember, one of Westport’s objectives is to create a greater sense of community and improve the quality of life.

For all solutions, your thinking should consider the history and effectiveness of progressive movements in the United States, like the Civil Rights movement and the recent Tea Party initiatives, as well as the arguments and initiatives of the Green Movement, like localism and eco-consumerism.  Your research should reflect a consideration of current political realities and trends, both in Westport and in the nation, and the concomitant opportunities they afford;   the strategies you design should stem from this thinking.  Your thinking and the language of your argument may be informed by the work of important thinkers from the past, like Black Elk, Henry David Thoreau, and Wendell Berry, or the ideas and approaches of current politicians and thinkers, such as Nobel Prize winner Al Gore or Thomas Friedman, author of The World Is Flat.  Works of literature and poetry, as well as visual texts such as film clips, photographs, paintings, and political cartons, might also provide you with another lens through which to view these issues.  In short, your paper will be a synthesis of the best interdisciplinary thinking your team can articulate.

Once you have determined how effective each strategy is in reaching Westport’s goals, you need to explore which strategy can most reasonably be achieved in the town of Westport (taking social, political, economic factors into account).  Be sure to provide mathematical support for you conclusions.  Part of your paper should be devoted to a specific proposed implementation plan for the town of Westport.  By what process will your plan occur?  What is the series of steps that must be taken?  Identify any foreseeable obstacles to your approach and suggest ways to overcome them. What persuasive strategies will you use to address and convince your audience, the citizens of Westport, to accept and work toward your plan?

To make its evaluation easier, the town has asked you to be especially careful to identify all assumptions that underlie your plan and its development and to cite the sources for the data and research you use.  Be clear about how your recommendations can be implemented.  A one page summary will argue in favor of what you consider to be the best alternative. Output from models your team develops should be attached to your paper.

The Paper:

Your response should be no more than 10 pages.  You must include quantitative support for your recommendations.  You will submit a hard copy of your response.  In addition, you will submit a response electronically in the event that you want to embed links to sites that include visuals, performances, etc.  No identifying marks should appear on your team’s paper.  Your team number should appear on each page of the response you submit.

For a paper to pass through the first round, it must be well written, and the judges must be able to quickly determine the approach and conclusions of the student team. The summary should include an overview of the strategy adopted by the team as well as specific conclusions.

The writing must be of the highest caliber, and the team must offer a complete and detailed solution. Technical details are important. A paper must be well balanced and consistent.

• Repeating Dogma: Simply opting for one of the strategies, basing supporting arguments on authors’ personal views, will not make for a successful paper. Arguments with little or no mathematical or historical and political research support are unlikely to make it past the first round of judging. The teams are expected to provide some justification for their model and proceed with an analysis of this model.
• Regurgitation and Detailed Discussion: The issues in question have come under intense scrutiny, and there is a large amount of information available. To succeed, teams should not simply restate conclusions of other sources.
• Citations: Papers that provide few citations or footnotes are likely to make a negative impression on the judges. Most likely to succeed are those papers that tend to include appropriate references and citations within the text. The citations could come in any form, including footnotes or endnotes. Be consistent with citation style.
• Comparisons: It will be useful to extrapolate, mathematically, historically, or politically, from other situations. However, teams must consider fundamental differences or similarities in their comparisons and account for any differences. Concise, straightforward language likely will make a good impression. We are not looking for sophisticated and complicated models. We look for descriptions that seem plausible and are well-founded. You will of course consider your own solution as it compares with other alternatives.
• Depth: More important, we focus on the subsequent analysis of the model once it has been determined. We want to know what the team can conclude based on its description, mathematical, historical, and political. The judges want to know how deeply the team is able to explore its model. The judges also want to know if the team has thought about the model itself. Every model has deficiencies, and it is important for a team to be able to look at the model and understand which parts of it are good and which are problematic. A team that explicitly acknowledges the deficiencies in its model is more likely to make a positive impression.

The Summary:

The summary should include an overview of the strategy adopted by the team as well as specific conclusions. Judges are not always able to evaluate all of the details of the modeling activities, but they are able to determine if the team has submitted a complete solution.

The contest prioritizes the summary. This is the first thing that the judges see, and the summary can set the tone for how the judges read the rest of the team’s entry. A complete, well-written summary immediately indicates that the team paid attention to detail, and the entry is worth the most careful consideration. The summary should include an overview of the problem. It should also inform the judges what approach the team decided to take to explore the problem. Finally, it should include specific results. The summary should prepare the judge for what to expect

Note:  The Staples Spectacular Student Challenge contest and question are modeled after the Moody’s Mega Math challenge.
Staples Spectacular Student Challenge

Solar Power-Specifications

Proposed System Profile

Sites:                                                                                         Staples High School (SHS)

                                                                                                  Bedford Middle School (BMS)

Total Generation Capacity:

SHS                                                                                           823.170 KW system

BMS                                                                                          483.000 KW system

Solar System Electricity Output:

SHS                                                                                           926,578 KWH per year

BMS                                                                                          480,896 KWH per year

System Cost:                                                                          $6.50/watt (includes installation & maintenance)

Lifespan:

Maximum output of system                                                0-20 yrs

50% of maximum output                                                    20-30 yrs

Current Cost of Electricity:

Average Rate per KWH                                                     $0.097

Current Electric Usage:                                                    (See attached chart)

Options:

The Town of Westport could choose to purchase and install the system outright.  It would use the power generated by the solar system to offset the power it would have needed to purchase from their electricity provider.  You should consider possible government incentives that may be available to offset costs.

Alternatively, the Town of Westport could contract with a private company (ex. SunEdison, MMA, American Capital Energy) to own and install the solar system on the roofs of BMS and SHS.  The company pays for all installation and maintenance costs for a period of 20 years and sells the electricity generated by the system to Westport.  The company would enter into a power purchase agreement for Westport to purchase the electricity generated by the system at an agreed upon fixed rate for the 20 year term of the contract.   The chosen rate is dependant upon the availability of government incentives available in each state as this influences the companies cost for installation.  Better incentives ultimately equate to a lower rate. 

Considerations:

• Current cost of electricity is not fixed.  If necessary, you may assume a 5% annual increase in electricity rates over the near future.  Feel free to develop, a more accurate estimate of changes in future electricity rates, substantiated with evidence. 
• A fixed rate of roughly $.10 KWH has been established in the states mentioned above due to incentives that are available there.  You may assume a similar rate could be achieved in Connecticut if the State offers comparable incentives to those states.  However, if the incentives are not comparable, a rate of $.125 KWH should be assumed.
• Costs of solar panels are not fixed.  You may propose at what cost ‘per watt installation’ it would become economical for Westport to purchase a photovoltaic system and provide an evidence based rationale for when that price may be achieved. 

• Current states where the SunEdison model is economical due to incentives include California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.  Using information from the site www.dsireusa.org/ you should try to determine whether Connecticut’s incentives are currently sufficient for the SunEdison model to be reasonable.                                                                                              

Electric Usage SHS and BMS 7/08-6/09

                  Staples Spectacular Student Challenge

Potential Resources

Consider the following resources to help identify specific data as you develop your response to the challenge question.  Your research can and should include a much broader range of sources to enable you to respond to the question in the depth required.  You may use any free internet sources you uncover in your research.

Connecticut Clean Energy Fund

http://www.ctcleanenergy.com/pdf

America on the Move -State Leadership in the Fight against Global Warming and what it means for the World

http://cdn.publicinterestnetwork.org/assets/6a1e91dbfae141e88e1cacd49bb6a1fe/America-on-the-Move.

Muncipal Green Building Policies in the U.S.

http://wiki.cascadiagbc.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Green_Building_Policy_-_Municipal

2007 Westport Town Plan

http://www.westportct.gov/NR/rdonlyres/0A441372-1DFF-489A-B99C-C778AB49F896/0/adoptedplan_nomapsrevisedpages.pdf

CO 2 Equivalent Data

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/coefficients.html

CO2 Emission Equivalents and Average CO2 Emissions for Electricity in CT

http://www.easternct.edu/sustainenergy/education/documents/EnergysourceCO2coefficients.pdf

CT Energy Education

http://www.ctenergyeducation.com/