2018 Clean Energy Council Awards winners announced

The winners of the 2018 Clean Energy Council Awards were announced last night, as part of the Australian Clean Energy Summit. The awards honour excellence in the fields of innovation and business community engagement in the clean energy sector, as well as providing special recognition to an individual for their contribution over many years.

The Clean Energy Council Innovation Award went to Energy Queensland, which was able to bring together a diverse group of government departments to deliver affordable access to renewable energy for public housing tenants in one of the state’s least accessible communities. Residents of Lockhart River previously depended heavily on diesel power, and the project delivered solar and storage with intelligent control systems — with the money saved from reducing diesel use returned to the community.

The Clean Energy Council Business Community Engagement Award recognised TasNetworks’ work with The Australian National University and ARENA to turn 40 homes on Tasmania’s Bruny Island into ‘mini power stations’. The project involved installing rooftop solar and batteries, along with energy management software from Reposit Power that allows households to actively trade the energy they produce and store with their electricity provider. The project will help reduce diesel use and the island’s dependence on the cable connecting it with Tasmania.

Finally, the Outstanding Contribution to Industry Award went to Nigel Morris, a pioneer of the Australian solar industry through his work at Rainbow Power Company, BP Solar, RoofJuice and Solar Analytics. Morris is a determined advocate for solar power and has been a champion of quality and integrity throughout his 25-year career in the solar industry. A mentor to many, he is also a blogger and podcaster and was a driver behind the establishment of the CEC’s Solar Retailer Code of Conduct.

The 2018 Australian Clean Energy Summit concluded today at ICC Sydney. Hosted by the Clean Energy Council, the summit drew more than 700 delegates from hundreds of organisations. It also featured more than 80 speakers from government, industry and academia discussing the latest market trends, innovation, policy, finance, business and technology developments in the clean energy sector.

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