German Renewables Award 2014 in Hamburg / Germany: Innovations for Future Energy Supply

HAMBURG, Germany, September 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

For the third time the German city of Hamburg presented on Tuesday the German Renewables Award for innovations and pioneering achievements in wind energy. An independent jury selected four winners from 61 submissions and nominations in the categories "Lifetime Achievement, Wind Energy", "Product Innovation of the Year", "Project of the Year" and "Student Thesis of the Year, Wind Energy". At the leading international trade fair "WindEnergy Hamburg 2014" more than 1.200 fair-exhibitors present till September 26 the newest innovations of the industry. 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 our 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 our country devote themselves to a clean and sustainable future," said Frank Horch, Hamburg's Minister for Economics, Transport and Innovation.

"The prize winners this year are impressive proof of the vigour with which the renewable energy sector is making the generation plants more and more cost-effi cient and integrates them into the energy supply system with outstanding technical features. To increase the percentage of renewable energies in the energy supply in Germany from 28% today to 40 to 45% in the year 2025, as announced by the federal government, precisely such innovations are called for," said Jan Rispens, Managing Director of the Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster, who awards the prize.

Winners of the German Renewables 2014 

The winner of the "Lifetime Achievement, Wind Energy," Henrik Stiesdal built his first little wind turbine as early as 1976. He started his professional career at Vestas A/S and worked the last years as Chief Technology Officer at Siemens Wind Power in Hamburg. The Danish citizen is seen as one of the major players in the wind power scene worldwide.

The Hamburg-based Qreon GmbH won with its "Q82 wind turbine of 2 MW capacity with integrated energy storage system" the award for product Innovation. The innovative energy storage system supports the power grid and enables the implementation of many different grid-based applications, because it can also be used without voltage signal from the power grid.

"Project of the year": 15 km off the North Seas island of Borkum you find the first commercial wind farm in the German North Sea: Riffgat. The 30 Siemens wind turbines in the 3.6 MW class have a total capacity of 108 MW and are able to supply some 120,000 average private households with electricity. It only took 14 months to construct. Wind farm and innovative acoustic mitigation measures were used during construction.

Six students applied for the "Student Thesis of the Year, Wind Energy" award. Jenny Bünger, diploma graduate in Industrial Engineering/Electrical Engineering at RWTH Aachen, emerged as the winner. She looked into current concepts of generation systems on medium and high voltage level that take into consideration fluctuations and disturbances in the grid, which are seen as a challenge. The award winner analysed the protection concepts in a practical context and developed effective solutions.

More information about the award and winners: http://en.erneuerbare-energien-hamburg.de/press-releases.html.

WindEnergy Hamburg 2014 

The Gateway to the World of Wind Energy - WindEnergy Hamburg is the leading trade show for the onshore and offshore wind industry and is as international as the industry itself. It features more than 1,200 companies from 30 countries on 65,000 squaremetre at the Hamburg Fair site from 23 to 26 September. In future this new event will be held in Hamburg every two years. More information: http://www.windenergyhamburg.de.

Hamburg - the world's wind energy capital 

For many of the industry's global players, WindEnergy Hamburg is a home game as leading companies from the entire value creation chain such as DONG Energy, Nordex, Senvion and Siemens have established their headquarters in Hamburg. At the same time, the hinterland with its numerous production sites perfectly complements Hamburg as an international development, sales and service centre. Among industry insiders, Hamburg is now considered as the worldwide wind energy capital - and thus the perfect setting for bringing together specialists from around the world and serving as a meeting point for the energy industry. Around 25,000 people are working in 1,466 regenerative energy companies in the region between Cuxhaven and Lübeck, and Neumünster and Lüneburg. The most important contribution to this development within the Hamburg metropolitan region has been made by wind energy. Actually 2/3 of the global know-how in wind energy is located in the Metropolitan Region of Hamburg or the neighbouring Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland / Denmark. More information: http://www.eehh.de.

Media Contacts: 

Matthias Beer
Project Manager Media Relations
Hamburg Marketing GmbH
Steinstraße 7
D-20095 Hamburg / Germany

Tel: +49-40-300-51-582
Mobile: +49-152-54-86-45-36
Mail: Matthias.beer@marketing.hamburg.de
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