They'll be burning the midnight oil this weekend, all in the name of energy innovation.
The fourth annual 24-hour Vermont Hackathon takes place this Friday and Saturday at the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies co-working space in downtown Burlington.
This year's event challenges participants to create a digital product, app, or website that supports a vision of an affordable, efficient and renewable energy future for Vermont. Sponsors include Green Mountain Power, MyWebGrocer, Dealer.com and FairPoint Communications.
The event website describes this year's Hackathon goals:
When HackVT started, it was built on the idea of bringing together friends and strangers to build a killer app for the state of Vermont. Now more than ever, the state is focused on creating a cleaner energy future with goals to shift towards 90% renewables and a 50% reduction in energy usage by 2050. With that in mind, we are thrilled to bring together the talented, creative and brilliant minds of HackVT to aid in the state’s vision of an affordable, efficient and renewable future for all Vermonters.
Gov. Peter Shumlin, has officially declared October "Tech Month" in Vermont. He commented, “Vermont is a national leader in sustainable energy, and we are creating a model for our energy future. This year's hackathon will help the state continue its energy innovation as we push toward our 90 percent renewable by 2050 green energy goals, and it highlights the breadth of our strong green energy economy here in Vermont.”
Registration is now open and team entries are encouraged. Registration is free and $20,000 in cash and prizes is up for grabs.
