It is only a few months till the 2015 Zayed Future Energy Prize awards ceremony, and selection committee has just selected and announced the finalists. Included in this final pick are 5 nonprofit organizations, 3 SMEs, 4 large corporations, and 14 high schools… as well as 5 highly regarded (however, unannounced) contenders for the Lifetime Achievement Award.
So who are the finalists?
2015 Zayed Future Energy Prize Selection Committee. Pictured within, His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Director General Zayed Future Energy Prize; Dr. Behjat Al Yousuf, Chair of the Zayed Future Energy Prize Selection Committee, Dean of Students, Masdar Institute (MI) and Professor of Practice Engineering Systems Management; Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany, Director, Zayed Future Energy Prize; Roger Ballentine, President, Green Strategies; Dr. Olaf Goebel, Professor of Energy Engineering and Renewable Energies, University of Applied Science in Hamm and Lippstadt; Dr. Steve Griffiths, Executive Director of Institute Initiatives Professor of Practice, MI; Richenda Van Leeuwen, Executive Director, Energy and Climate, Energy Access Initiative, United Nations Foundation; Dalya Al Muthanna, President and CEO, General Electric Gulf Region; Gunter Pauli, Author of ‘The Blue Economy’ and Founder of Zero Emissions Research Initiative; Jonathon Porrit, Co-founder, Forum for the Future; Maha Salem Jabour, Advisor to Director General, Abu Dhabi Education Council; David Sandalow, Inaugural Fellow, Centre on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University; Gauri Singh, Director, Country Sustainability and Partnerships, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Professor Ad Van Wijk, Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur and Professor of Future Energy Systems at the Delft University of Technology and Yukari Yamashita, Board Member, Director Energy Data and Modeling Center, Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ).
No matter who wins, all of the candidates are worthy contenders for the prize. They were chosen out of the good company of 597 other vital submissions, so it was no small feat to make it to the finals. This is the Oscars of the cleantech world.
The jury has a challenging task to choose the best of many firsts. This is a group doing world-changing work, each in their own way, and the contest is about bringing more attention to them to support their continued growth and expansion. Prize money is also at hand.
From Sustainnovate, the 2015 Zayed Future Energy Prize finalists are as follows:
In the “Large Corporation” category, the finalists are Enel Green Power, First Solar, IKEA, and Panasonic.
In the “SME” category, the finalists are Econation, M-Kopa, and SELCO.
In the “Non-Profit Organisations” category, the finalists are Electriciens sans Frontières, Liter of Light, Practical Action, SolarAid, and World Resources Institute.
There are also 14 high schools spread across 5 regions that are finalists in the 2015 Global High Schools category, including: Abaarso School of Science and Technology, Alliance Girls High School, and Waterford Kamhlaba (Africa); DGEyC E.S.E.T. Nº 4 El Palomar, Colegio Roosevelt, Munro Academy (Americas); Amra Bint Abdul Rahman Secondary School for Girls, Royal College, Rishi Valley Education Centre and Addu High School (Asia), and Melbourne Girls School, Lumé Rural Training Center, and Cashmere High School (Oceania).
There are millions worldwide that are better off due to the finalists in the SME and NPO categories. “They have brought clean electricity, clean cook-stoves, clean electricity-free solar lighting, LEDs, solar panels, and much more to millions of people across the developing world,” Sustainnovate points out.
He continues, “The finalists in the ‘Large Corporation’ category, meanwhile, have been instrumental in the clean energy and electric car revolutions that have now begun. Without a doubt, they will continue doing so for many years to come as well.”
Related Stories:
7th Zayed Future Energy Prize Competition Pulls in 597 Submissions
Cleantech Leaders (Zayed Future Energy Prize Videos & Call For Applications)
2014 Zayed Future Energy Prize Winners (+ Exclusive Interview With ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer)
Image from Sustainnovate
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