Power Drive Wraps Up 14th Year
The Power Drive program in Nebraska,a light-electric vehicle competition for high school students, concluded its 14th year with the May 5 Championships at Werner Park in Papillion. Wayne High School won for overall performance in the advanced class, while Elkhorn High School won the overall in the standard class. Rob Beasterfield from Johnson-Brock High School received the $1,500 Power Drive Scholarship and Aryton Kuzela from Elkhorn South High School won the $1,500 Paul High Scholarship. Both awards are funded by private donations.
Please follow these links to view photos of this year's finals:
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Power Drive continues to set the pace for high schools in 23 states that take part in Electrathon America competition. OPPD established Power Drive in 1998 and Nebraska Public Power District added its resources and has remained a valued partner.
“The Power Drive program is no longer a new thing in Nebraska, but interest is still really strong,” said Steve Anderson, an OPPD retiree who started the program in Nebraska and continues to work closely with Power Drive as a volunteer.
Reflecting the ongoing appeal of the program, Nebraska has 79 Electrathon members, plus 10 others from Iowa, making the program the largest in the nation, Steve said. Following Nebraska are Oregon with 69 teams, and Kansas with 39.
Typically, more than 600 students participate each year in Nebraska’s Power Drive program. That number is based on an average of about six students working on a car. This year finds about 100 to 104 cars entered in competition, close to the record of 106 cars, Steve said. Some schools enter more than one car in the competition.
Although student interest remains near its peak, the Power Drive program may face a long-term issue in losing instructors to retirement, Steve said. About two-thirds of the teachers in the Power Drive program are industrial technology instructors, while about one-third are physics teachers. “We are having a harder time repopulating our instructor base because the academic community isn’t placing as much emphasis on it,” Steve said. Without an adequate number of industrial technology instructors, fewer schools would be able to participate in the Power Drive program.
Power Drive Program
| The Power Drive Program is an educational effort that challenges high school students to design and build one-person electric vehicles during the school year. In the spring, these teams of students compete with one another at organized rallies in areas such as vehicle braking, maneuverability and endurance. |
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OPPD established Power Drive in 1998 to give high school students a hands-on way to apply their studies and to promote interest in automotive, electric and energy technologies and careers. Nebraska Public Power District added its resources and has remained a valuable Power Drive partner.
Based on the program's growth since its inception, it's clear that the students, their teachers and schools have embraced the concept.
The experience the participants gain through the program is important because they are the energy decision-makers of the future.
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