Press announcement: nine innovative projects selected for the EU Sustainable Energy Awards 2016

EU Sustainable Energy Week 2016 #EUSEW16

May 2, 2016

Brussels, 2 May 2016 - EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) will return for its 11th edition from 13-17 June 2016. The nine nominees for the 2016 EUSEW Awards have now been announced! Three winners will be revealed by Commissioner for Climate Action & Energy Miguel Arias Cañete, Member of Parliament and Chair of ITRE Committee Jerzy Buzek, Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella and by the Director General of the European Consumer Organisation Monique Goyens during the Award Ceremony on 14 June, at the EUSEW Policy Conference.

The EU Sustainable Energy Awards recognise outstanding innovation in energy efficiency and renewables. Around 200 submissions for the 2016 Awards have been evaluated, and the nominees have been chosen from a shortlist of the year’s most successful projects for clean, secure and efficient energy. With prizes from an expert jury in three categories (consumers, public sector, businesses) and a further prize from European citizens through a public vote, the Awards highlight new ways to shape Europe’s energy future.

The Policy Conference is a flagship event drawing thousands of delegates (public authorities, industries, NGOs, private companies, etc.) to Brussels each year, to meet and discuss new policy developments, best practices, initiatives and ideas concerning sustainable energy. This year, the Conference focuses on the power of consumers and citizens: how they contribute to the energy mix today and in the future, as Europe explores the best ways to meet the EU’s energy and climate goals.

The Awards are a major feature of the conference. A panel of experts is currently examining the nine nominated projects and will select the three ultimate winners. The names of the winners will be revealed during an Award Ceremony in Brussels, on day one of the event.

Who are the nominees?

Consumers category

Coopérnico (Portugal) –This cooperative’s RESocial Innovation project is a citizen-owned initiative for small-scale renewable energy production;
Test-Achats (Belgium) – The CLEAR (enabling Consumers to Learn about, Engage with and Adopt Renewable energy technologies) project guides consumers actively through all the stages leading to the purchase of domestic renewable and low-carbon energy technologies;
Østkraft (Norway) – The EcoGrid EUproject is a large-scale demonstration of consumer participation in balancing renewable electricity generation through the use of active demand response to real-time prices via smart grids.

Public sector category

Cyprus Energy Agency (Cyprus) – The BUILD UP Skills We-Qualify project aims to facilitate the acquisition of building-sector skills needed to achieve EU2020 national targets;
SEAI (Ireland) – This public agency’s public sector programme provides networking and project support to public bodies and schools across Ireland to promote energy management and best practices;
Municipality of Pokupsko (Croatia) – Pokupsko’s Beacon of Sustainable Energy for South-East Europe initiative has implemented a number of projects on energy efficiency and renewables in the municipality, to develop it in the most sustainable way possible.

Businesses category

Brau Union Österreich (Austria) – Green Brewery Göss is the world's first carbon-neutral major brewery using only renewable energy;
GreenWay Operator (Slovakia) – GreenWay Service offers a market solution to the barriers to wider adoption of electric vehicles;
Industry Park of Sweden – This fully developed site hosts approximately 20 companies sharing energy, materials, utilities, logistics, infrastructure and services.

Creating jobs by rethinking our relationship with energy

By supporting citizens’ initiatives and the most promising European projects in energy efficiency and renewables, the European Commission is reaffirming its ambition to create jobs in these growth sectors. The key is to encourage people to rethink their relationship with energy and further explore the opportunities that open up as Europe shifts towards efficient, renewable energy. Through its initiatives, Europe is creating social and economic value for everyone for decades to come.

Click here to find out more about job creation in Europe’s energy sector.

EU Sustainable Energy Week

European Sustainable Energy Week is a month-long series of activities to build a secure energy future for Europe. It includes the EUSEW Policy Conference, Energy Days and Networking Village and the EU Sustainable Energy Awards. Launched in 2006, EUSEW is organised by the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) in close cooperation with Directorate-General for Energy. It brings together public authorities, private companies, NGOs and consumers to promote initiatives to save energy and move towards renewables for clean, secure and efficient power.

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