Cooperative Living June 2024 - 35

CO-OP PEOPLE
Shenandoah Valley Electric Vehicle Grand Prix,
Rockingham, Va.
Small and In Charge
Electric vehicles take over one Virginia electric cooperative
by Preston Knight, Contributing Writer
F
orget range anxiety. Th ese tiny electric vehicles traveled
from Virginia's Shenandoah Valley to Abu Dhabi.
Sure, airplanes were involved, but the distance
covered still represents a signifi cant achievement. It shows
that participation in the Shenandoah Valley Electric Vehicle
Grand Prix gives high school students more than just a cursory
overview of the good and bad of battery-charged cars. Th ere
are educational opportunities at every turn.
Th e grand prix, hosted in April by Shenandoah Valley
Electric Cooperative in Rockingham, Va., pits local high
schools against each other, seeing which one could complete
the most laps throughout two 30-minute heats. Th is year was
the third installment of the race, featuring 13 teams, including
two from Maryland.
Given their success from the previous two years,
two Virginia programs, one from Harrisonburg High
School and another from Augusta County, known as the
Shenandoah Valley Short Circuits, went to Abu Dhabi
in March for the competition's international version.
r fr
Th e Short Circuits were victorious there, while
Harrisonburg was the third-place fi nisher.
" I'd go back in a heartbeat, " Short
Circuits' participant Andrew Berry says.
" Th e place is beautiful, safe, clean. Better
than some places I've been in in the U.S. Th e architecture is
so diff erent. You ride down [here] and see fi eld, barn, fi eld.
You ride down there and see skyscraper, skyscraper, skyscraper. "
He recalled his overseas trip while decked out in full
race gear at SVEC's offi ce, where his father is a system
engineer. Familial ties were not what led the younger Berry
to participate in the competition; it was a personal interest
in technology. " I think it's fun, " he says. " I would recommend
it to anyone. Anyone who likes racing. It's diff erent than
what you think, but it works. "
'PEELING BACK LAYERS'
SVEC hosted the event in partnership with Global EEE,
a Washington, D.C., nonprofi t that stands for Education,
co-opliving.com
s t
Energy and Environment. To off set the costs of electric
vehicle kits off ered by Global EEE, the cooperative and
its wholesale energy provider, Old Dominion Electric
Cooperative, provided fi nancial assistance. Teams were
also encouraged to fi nd sponsors to cover expenses.
Th e grand prix gives students with diverse skill sets a
hands-on chance to put their knowledge and interests to
use. Th ere's wiring, construction, data analysis and a touch
of graphic design and marketing, as teams are advised to
promote their work within their schools and communities.
Awards handed out mirrored the educational aspects.
Th ere were recognitions for technical innovation, vehicle
workmanship, women in science and engineering, car
workmanship and team promotion, among others.
Massanutten Regional Governor's School in
Shenandoah County took home an award for best use of
3D printing by printing fl oor brackets designed to secure
the fl oor of the chassis more eff ectively. Eastern
Mennonite School in Harrisonburg was
awarded best video for a two-minute
compilation capturing the team's
months-long eff orts to construct its
vehicle, set to the song " Th e Greatest
Show, " only the word " car " was dubbed over
" show " in humorous fashion.
Harrisonburg exacted revenge on the Short Circuits
by winning the local race. But for everyone involved,
regardless of fi nishing position, the event was a success
with far-reaching implications. " What the co-op is doing is
looking way into the future, " says Matt Brame, department
head of technology education at Millbrook High School
in Frederick County, Va. " Students are looking at this and
fi guring out their specializations of where they would fi t.
Th ey're expanding their horizons and not saying, hey,
if I want to go to work at SVEC, there's only one thing
I can do, and that's be a lineman. Th ey're seeing those layers
and peeling back the layers of how to race an EV is the
same for a career. "
*
June 2024 * Cooperative Living * 33
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living June 2024

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