Friday, July 06, 2012

Shareholder pride

Hepburn Wind in Victoria has won the World Energy Award 2012!


The World Wind Energy Conference is winding up in Bonn, Germany with the special focus this year being ‘Community Power – Citizens Power’, recognising the power of the community energy model.

We are delighted and humbled to have been awarded the prestigious World Wind Energy Award 2012.

At the invitation of the World Wind Energy Association, our Community Officer, Taryn Lane, presented a paper on the Hepburn Wind story. (No member funds were applied to Taryn’s visit to Germany.)

Last night Taryn accepted the award on behalf of all who have worked to bring the project to fruition. In particular she acknowledged the vision and critical contributions to the project of our founder Per Bernard and our Chairman Simon Holmes à Court, as well as key contributions from project partners, including Sustainability Victoria.

The WWEA Board has recognised our work in introducing large scale community wind power to Australia, as part of a citizen’s movement aiming at a fundamental energy transformation.

The WWEA appreciates in particular that other communities in Australia are now using the ‘Hepburn Model’, as it is commonly referred, in order to develop their own community power projects. The WWEA made particular reference to the role that Embark is playing to catalyse the sector.

Stefan Gsänger, Secretary of the WWEA said:

“The award is given to the initiators of the Hepburn wind farm for launching Australia's first and groundbreaking community initiative that led to a 4.1 MW community owned wind farm, an excellent answer in particular in order to increase social understanding and acceptance of wind power. Seen from outside of Australia, the project may appear small. However, the Hepburn wind farm stands for a social movement outside the strong fossil lobby in Australia.

WWEA would like to express its willingness to work closely with the Australian wind and in particular the community wind sector and to extend its full support and cooperation in fostering the transformation of Australia towards 100% renewable energy and a strengthened understanding of the importance of sustainability.

With the award, WWEA would also like to encourage the government of Victoria and Australia as well as governments around the world to support communities in their efforts to harvest clean and inexhaustible wind power, for their own benefit and for the benefit of our planet.”


The award joins an impressive list of accolades that now ranges from local to national and now through to global recognition including the Climate Alliance Innovator Award 2010, the Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Award 2011, the Banksia Environment Award 2011 and the Ethical Investor Australian Sustainability Award 2011.

As a shareholder I am delighted with this award.

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