Award for Most Outstanding Clean Energy Project AGL – Bogong Hydro Development

About the Bogong Hydro Power Plant

The Bogong Hydro Power Plant, operational since December 2009, is a 140 MW development located adjacent to Bogong Village in the Alpine National Part, in north-east Victoria.

The $230 million development draws water from the McKay Creek Hydro Power Station via a new 7.5 kilometre tunnel, one of the largest hard-rock tunnels to be constructed in the Southern Hemisphere in the last 40 years.

Lead contractor for the plant was McConnell Dowell Constructions, with Toshiba International responsible for the turbine and generator design and installation.

AGL’s General Manager Power Development, Ken Woolley, said the award reinforced AGL’s position as Australia’s leading developer of high-quality renewable energy assets.

“The underlying and innovative principle AGL employed in the Bogong Power Station development was to deliver a substantially positive environmental outcome, not merely provide offsets for the environmental impacts of the project,” he said.

Award for Young Industry Leader – Matthew Wright, Executive Director, Beyond Zero Emissions

About Matthew Wright

Matthew Wright has been campaigning on climate and energy issues since 2002.

He is producer of Australia's only dedicated radio program on climate change, works as a climate educator for the offset organisation Climate Positive and is currently designing the Cape Paterson Eco Village – a zero carbon housing development – as well as leading Beyond Zero Emissions.

Beyond Zero Emissions is an independent, not-for-profit organisation with the goal of facilitating the implementation of social changes and technologies that will reduce the impacts of climate change. In partnership with The University of Melbourne, Beyond Zero Emissions recently released a report detailing the Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan that details a roadmap to decarbonise the Australian stationary energy sector within a decade.

Of the EcoGen 2010 Award, Beyond Zero Emissions has said “This is an award not only for Matthew, but for the whole Beyond Zero Emissions team, whose work has been recognised by EcoGen 2010.”

Award for Most Outstanding Clean Energy Technology Innovation Oceanlinx – Mk3PC Oscillating Water Column

About the Oceanlinx Oscillating Water Column

The Oceanlinx Oscillating Water Column acts very similarly to a blowhole. It is effectively an artificial cave, in which the water level rises and falls as the waves pass by. The rise and fall of the water inside the chamber compresses and rarefies the air respectively, forcing air backwards and forwards. The chamber narrows so that air is accelerated to its highest velocity as it passes the turbine. The blades of the turbine oscillate with the airflow through the chamber, maintaining maximal power extraction at all times in the cycle. The turbine, therefore, converts energy on both the up and down stroke of the wave.

The Oceanlinx technology is unique and innovative in that it utilises resonance to alter the energy density field of the waves to vastly increase the amount of power it captures. This is then converted to electricity by a revolutionary new turbine which is able to continue to spin in the same direction to produce power, regardless of the direction of the oscillatory airflow that is generated by the rise and fall of the waves. The technology is 100 per cent Australian owned and developed intellectual property.

“Oceanlinx was very pleased to accept the top award for one of the four categories on offer,” said a company representative. “This award further demonstrates the support and confidence that the renewable energy community has in Oceanlinx.”

Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to the Industry – Peter Szental, Founder, Szencorp

About Peter Szental

The founder of Szencorp, Peter Szental was a tireless and passionate champion on climate change and sustainability. Sadly, he passed away at home surrounded by his close family on 14 July 2010, after a battle with cancer. Peter was widely respected for his pioneering work over three decades to improve Australia’s sustainability. He was a passionate advocate for action on climate change and sustainable buildings, possessing a sharp eye, an impatience for action, and a strong ethic of business accountability. He is credited with a leading role in turning energy efficiency into mainstream business in Australia. In 1983 Peter established Energy Conservation Systems (ECS), a company focused on technologies to reduce energy consumption in buildings. With ECS he became passionate about finding innovative ways to save energy, often investigating emerging technologies to see if they could become commercially viable.

At various times Peter held national leadership positions in the development of technologies as diverse as efficient lighting, solar air-conditioning, bioenergy, and electric cars. He also served as Founder of the Australian Alliance to Save Energy and Founding President of the Energy Efficiency Council, as well as being instrumental in the establishment and early work of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, Green Building Council of Australia, Business Council for Sustainable Energy, and the Clean Energy Council. He sat on advisory committees for Federal and State Governments too numerous to list.

EcoGen 2010 Clean Energy Award winners and nominees

Award for Most Outstanding Clean Energy Project:
AGL – Bogong Hydro Development

Nominees:

• eco-Kinetics: Lyon Park Building Solar System
• Energy Matters: Johnson & Johnson Solar Generator Installation
• Ingenero: Alice Springs Solar Power Station
• SunPower Corporation: Marble Bar and Nullagine Photovoltaic Tracking Installation
• PSE Communications & Electrical: Millner Primary School SOLA Outdoor Learning Centre

Award for Most Outstanding Clean Energy Technology Innovation:Oceanlinx – Mk3PC Oscillating Water Column

Nominees:

• Advanced Wave Power: Platform Nautilis
• Apollo Energy: SunLock
• Granex: Granite Power Pty Ltd

Award for Young Industry Leader: Matthew Wright – Executive Director, Beyond Zero Emissions

Nominees:

• Nick Armstrong, Managing Director, COzero
• Maaike Göbel , Manager, REEEP, South East Asia and Pacific
• Chanti Richardson, Marketing Manager, Solar Australia

Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to the Industry: Peter Szental– Founder, Szencorp

Nominees:

• Mark Diesendorf, Deputy Director, Institute of Environmental Studies, University of New South Wales
• David Harries, Director, EMC Solar
• Susan Jeanes, CEO, Australian Geothermal Energy Association

Image 1: Ken Woolley (right), General Manager, Power Development, AGL receiving the Award for Most Outstanding Clean Energy Project for AGL’s Bogong Hydro Power Station, from Richard Jenman, Sales Director of Eaton.

Image 2: Matthew Wright (right), Executive Director of Beyond Zero Emissions, receiving the EcoGen 2010 Young Industry Leader Award from Richard Jenman, Sales Director of Eaton.

Image 3: Tom Denniss (right), Chief Technology Officer of Oceanlinx, receiving the EcoGen 2010 Award for Most Outstanding Clean Energy Technology Innovation for Oceanlinx’s Oscillating Water Columns from Richard Jenman, Sales Director of Eaton.

Image 4: Ric Brazzale, Director, Green Energy Trading, gives an acceptance speech at the EcoGen 2010 Awards Night on behalf of the late Peter Szental, founder of Szencorp, who won the EcoGen 2010 Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to the Industry.