There are no bands, cheerleaders or fight songs, but this college championship may be the most important contest this fall.

Fourteen teams from colleges as far away as China are competing this month in the first Orange County Sustainability Decathlon. The competition was designed to inspire students to build the most sustainable, ultra-efficient homes to meet California’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045.

In addition to sustainability, the homes will be judged on nine other factors, including design, innovation and market potential. An added challenge: The houses were built at or near the colleges, then disassembled to be rebuilt and completed at the Orange County Fair & Event Center, where the competition takes place starting today.

In Costa Mesa, students from the University of California, Irvine and Orange Coast College scrambled as a machine spit out pre-programmed steel pieces to be assembled for their luminOCity House.

Best-laid plans were proving a challenge to California Polytechnic University, Pomona students when they realized they might not have a roof for their Roots House.

And at California State University, Fullerton, students watched nervously as their Team Titan demonstration project was readied for transport.

Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, donated $25,000 to each of three Southern California student teams as part of its commitment to a clean energy future as outlined in its latest white paper, "Countdown to 2045: Realizing California’s Pathway to Net Zero."

The decathlon also showcases building electrification, one of Edison’s major clean energy initiatives.

“Edison enthusiastically supports our local university teams pursuing sustainable and clean energy buildings,” said Chanel Parson, SCE’s director of Electrification. “The students participating are some of our next generation’s best and brightest, paving the way to a sustainable future powered by renewable energy.

“SCE offers a variety of incentives that support the installation and use of high-efficiency electric appliances for homes and businesses, and the Sustainability Decathlon has its eye on the same goal.”

Cody McAllister, an SCE Major Projects manager, graduated from California State University, Fullerton, with his MBA last year. He volunteered to help the school’s team this year, mainly as a mentor but with his fair share of hands-on work.

“At SCE, we talk about the Countdown to 2045 and what it means for the utility, so it’s been great to see how the next generation of talent will build it,” he said.

The students quickly learned that designing a sustainable home and building one are two different things. But they overcame many challenges – like the missing roof -- to get their homes built.

Georgie Ampudia, an architecture student on the UCI/OCC team, summed up the motivation that kept the teams going.

“We are building the future,” she said.

For more information on SCE’s clean energy activities, visit edison.com/cleanenergy.