Press announcement: EUSEW Award winners revealed!
EU Sustainable Energy Week 2017 #EUSEW17
Outstanding sustainable energy projects were recognised yesterday at the 2017 EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) Awards Ceremony. They included a fourth category this year – Energy Islands – while the Citizens’ Award reached new heights of popular success, with 22 000 votes cast online by members of the public, over twice last year’s total.
The ceremony was a fitting end to the first day of 2017 EUSEW Policy Conference, celebrating innovations that could help all Europeans access clean energy. EU Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action Miguel Arias Cañete, energy and consumer experts were on hand to congratulate the winning projects. To open the evening, textile and fashion innovator Marina Toeters presented some of her latest high-tech creations, which could support the shift to sustainable energy. Short films then introduced the three finalists in each category – Consumers, Public Sector, Business and Energy Islands – before the winners were announced.
The Consumers award went to the Home Energy Saving Kit, from Ireland. Available through Dublin’s public libraries, it provides householders with accessible tools to make energy savings in their home.
The Public Sector Award was awarded to the Europe-wide CELSIUS project – which supports the spread of efficient district heating and cooling in a network of 66 municipalities, and growing.
The Business category winner was SINBIO in Slovakia, which has cut emissions and created jobs by switching the town of Trebišov to biomass power fuelled by agricultural and forestry waste.
The first ever winner of the Energy Islands Award was the Greek Tilos project, for its contribution to the island’s energy security through its ground-breaking battery-based hybrid power station.
Finally, the Citizens’ Award was revealed, chosen from the 12 finalists in an online poll. At the 14 June deadline, with over 10 000 votes, Tilos was the winner – the second double winner in a row!
ABOUT THE AWARDS AND THE 2017 FINALISTS
The twelve finalists for the 2017 EUSEW Awards were chosen from a shortlist of the year’s most successful projects for clean, secure and efficient energy. Now in its 11th edition, the Awards are a major feature of the annual EUSEW Policy Conference.
Consumers category – Home Energy Saving Kit (Ireland); Topten – Best Products of Europe (EU-wide); Participation for Sustainable Towns (Italy)
Public Sector category – Bucharest Sector 1 – Thermal Rehabilitation Programme (Romania); Beenergi Programme (Spain); CELSIUS – Smart District Energy (Sweden)
Businesses category – Active Network Management Pilot Project (Belgium); Bright Programme (Portugal); SINBIO – Sustainable Innovation in Bioenergy (Slovakia)
Energy Islands category – Bornholm – The Bright Green Island (Denmark); Tilos (Greece); Simskäla Island (Finland).
There’s still time to attend this year’s EUSEW Policy Conference, which continues to 22 June. Come to the conference and register on the spot!
