Congratulations to our Student Competition Winners!

EmPower Solar is proud to announce that three talented teams walked away winners at Family Solar Night!

Held at the Town of Hempstead Energy Park, friends, family, and students gathered to tour the facility and find out which team would be joining our staff at the U.S. Solar Decathlon in California this October.

All of the teams submitted great essays and video projects, but three stood out among the group.

First Place

First Place goes to STATE (Students Taking Action for Tomorrow’s Environment) from Avalon Park Preserve in Stony Brook. The team members include Jake Welde, Ward Melville High School; Elaina Zodiatis, Smithtown High School; and Sara Kaufman, Mount Sinai High School. Their advisor was Rebecca Kassay.


Second Place

Second Place goes to Solar Generation. The team members include Jane Jang, Bronx High School of Science; Juno Lee, Bronx School of Science; Jonathan Kim, Northport High School; and Jeff Kim, Stuyvesant High School. Their advisor was Sung T. Kim.


Third Place

Third Place goes to Solar Squad. The team hails from Farmingdale High School and includes Ann Lin, Anne Chen, and Amelia Makhanlall. Their advisor was Lorie Scheinwald. This team garnered the most YouTube likes.


We’d also like to give a shout out to Division Avenue High School (DAHS) Solar who received the second most YouTube likes, behind Solar Squad. Additionally, Division Avenue High School and Herricks High School each entered two teams in the competition. Thank you for participating!

Watch all of the YouTube submissions here:

Solar Smart

The Illuminators

Solar Angels

Team 28

Solar Core

The Yamato Clan

DAHS Solar

Also, a huge thank you to the Town of Hempstead, who helped organize the event, and our guest judges: Vince Capogna, Long Island U.S. Green Buildings Council; Kate Murray, Town of Hempstead Supervisor; Gordian Raacke, Renewable Energy Long Island; Adrienne Esposito, Citizens Campaign for the Environment; Ellen Honigstock, Urban Green Council; Max Joel, Solar One; Eric Alexander, Vision Long Island; and Tom Leddy, Greater Long Island Clean Cities Coalition.

Check out our Facebook page to see some of the photos taken at Family Solar Night.

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