With the winter cold descending in earnest, two sets of energy awards are acknowledging those who have made significant strides in ensuring more sustainable energy use.
The South African National Energy Association (SANEA) recognises companies, organisations and individuals that are contributing to a sustained and healthy energy sector, from high-profile initiatives to 'behind the scenes' activities.
The efforts of those nominated for a SANEA Energy Award may be big or small, but will represent something beyond the ordinary. “All will be examples of what can be achieved if we put our minds to it,” the organisation says.
Nominations can be made in the following categories: The SANEA Energy Award - the premier award for an individual or organisation that has demonstrated ongoing commitment to enhancing the energy environment; the Energy Project Award - for a specific project or other defined activity that has either made a significant contribution to the local energy landscape or brought international credibility for SA; the Energy Journalism Award - for special efforts within the field of journalism to promote greater understanding of energy and its role in society; and the Energy Education Award - for a lecture, presentation, technical paper, article or other educational activity that furthers the understanding of energy and its role in sustaining human life.
There are also various internal awards, specifically for SANEA members.
According to SANEA, the awards are designed to generate awareness of achievements in the energy sector and to inspire innovative approaches to addressing future energy needs. Nominations are open until 29 June and the awards ceremony will be held on 27 September.
Another energy-related awards programme is the Eta Awards, sponsored by Eskom and endorsed by the Department of Energy. Eta is the Greek symbol for efficiency and the awards recognise exceptional efforts in the more efficient use of energy by individuals, companies and other organisations.
Participants need to demonstrate the application of sound energy efficiency principles for at least 12 months, and can enter in a number of categories: Commercial, including projects in hotels, shopping centres, businesses or hospitals; Industrial, including projects at manufacturing plants, smelters, mines and so forth; and Residential, for example, people reducing their household consumption drastically or residential street lighting projects.
Other categories include Energy Champion, for individuals who have made a huge impact in promoting energy efficiency; Community, for persons who have rolled out innovative energy projects in rural or urban communities; Young Designers, for school-going children with a creative idea, programme, design or prototype related to the efficient use of energy; Energy Efficiency Awareness, for communication managers within large corporates who have made an exceptional effort to promote energy efficiency; Innovation, a new category that recognises prototypes that reduce energy consumption in equipment or buildings or smart ideas that could contribute to energy efficiency; and Energy Savings in Households, also a new category, which recognises people who have implemented innovative energy efficiency applications at home.
Entries close on 3 August with the first round of judging beginning on 24 August. Finalists will present their solutions to judges on 21 September and the awards evening will take place on 15 November. All the awards comprise a cash prize of R30 000 for the winner in each category and R5 000 for each of the runners-up in each category, subject to the judges' discretion.
Paroshen Naidoo, operations manager at Util Labs, a smart grid and efficiency solution provider and previous winner of an Eta Award in the Innovation category, says awareness around energy efficiency has changed drastically over the past year. This has mostly been driven by local utilities and the increasing cost of electricity, he says.
Naidoo adds that IT can play a key role in enabling households and businesses to better manage their energy consumption. “Everybody wants to do something about energy efficiency but not everybody knows how. Technology can make energy efficiency easy by assisting the end-user with automation and information.
“Once you have the information, then you can do something; without the right information, we are just making best guesstimates.”
Innovative products and approaches can make substantial contributions to changing ingrained energy behaviours, he adds. “Through one of our products, we have measured a saving of 10% in the residential sector, merely by providing them with their usage information in real-time.”
Naidoo says the greatest challenge around energy efficiency locally is awareness and education. “We are working hard to make this easy using smart technology through innovation. As the pull in the market gets greater, the costs will come down.”
For more information about these awards, visit the Eta or SANEA sites.
Share
