The German Renewables Award for innovations and pioneering achievements in wind energy was awarded in Hamburg on 23rd September.
Four winners from 61 submissions and nominations in different categories were selected by the jury. The ceremony was coordinated with the trade fair WindEnergy Hamburg 2014 which saw more than 1.200 fair-exhibitors present their newest innovations.
Hamburg with its leading companies and know-how is known as the world’s wind energy capital.
Innovative drive and a pioneering spirit are indispensable in an industry like the renewable energies industry – and these are the strengths in Hamburg and throughout Germany. The German Renewables Award is a particularly good reflection of the inspiration and passion with which smart people in country devote to a clean and sustainable future, said, Frank Horch, Minister for Economics, Transport and Innovation, Hamburg.
The winners enclose the potency with which the renewable energy sector is making the generation plants more cost-efficient and integrates them into the system with outstanding technical features, said Jan Rispens, MD, Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster.
To increase renewable energy potential in energy supply, Germany has targeted its clean energy achievement from present 28 percent to 45 percent by 2025.
The winner for Lifetime Achievement, Wind Energy was Henrik Stiesdal who built his first little wind turbine as early as 1976. He started his professional career at Vestas and worked the last years as Chief Technology Officer at Siemens.
The Hamburg-based Qreon, with its 2 MW Q82 wind turbine having integrated energy storage system won the award for product Innovation. It supports the power grid and enables different grid-based applications as can also be used without voltage signal.
Project of the year was given to Riffgat wind farm that consist of 30 Siemens wind turbines of 3.6 MW class with a total capacity of 108 MW and are able to supply for 120,000 households with electricity. It only took 14 months to construct.
Jenny Bünger, diploma graduate in Industrial Engineering at RWTH Aachen, emerged as the winner of Student Thesis of the Year, Wind Energy. She detailed on current concepts of generation systems on medium and high voltage level that take into consideration fluctuations and disturbances in the grid.