Valders High School Wins Team Title at 30th WPS Solar Olympics

*TL;DR: Valders High School took first in the team competition at Wisconsin Public Service’s 30th Solar Olympics, where almost 150 students from 13 high schools displayed solar‑powered projects.

Context The Solar Olympics, launched by Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) in 1997, gives high‑school students a venue to apply science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) skills to solar‑energy challenges. Over three decades the event has expanded from three schools to a regional tradition that reaches thousands of students across northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Key Facts - The 2024 showcase took place at the University of Wisconsin‑Oshkosh and featured 13 separate events, each testing a different solar‑energy application. - Nearly 150 students from 13 area high schools competed, creating solar‑powered devices ranging from advertising campaigns to water heaters. - Valders High School won the overall team competition, edging out Green Bay West, Ashwaubenon and Mishicot, which tied for second, and Denmark and Wausau West, which tied for third. - Individual event winners included Valders for the Solar Advertising Campaign and a tie in Solar Jeopardy (individual) by Valders students Norianna Burton and Liam Grall. - Other school victories spanned categories such as Solar Car Design (Ashwaubenon), Solar Cooker (Marinette) and Solar Sculpture (Wausau West). - The Solar Olympics is part of WPS’s SolarWise for Schools program, which supplies hands‑on renewable‑energy curricula to participating districts.

What It Means Valders’ team victory underscores the growing technical proficiency of students in the region’s renewable‑energy education. The breadth of projects—art, engineering, and practical appliances—demonstrates that solar concepts are moving beyond theory into tangible solutions. For WPS, the event validates its long‑term investment in STEM outreach and reinforces its role as a major solar‑power producer for homes and businesses in Wisconsin.

Looking ahead, the next Solar Olympics will test how emerging technologies like photovoltaic storage and smart‑grid integration are adopted by student teams, offering a glimpse into the future workforce that will sustain the state’s clean‑energy transition.