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On June 20, as part of EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) (19-25 June), the winners of the EU Sustainable Energy Awards for 2017, which showcase Europe's most innovative sustainable energy products, will be announced. The winner in each category – Businesses, Public Sector, Consumers and Energy Islands – is chosen by an expert jury, and until June 15 you can also vote for any of the nominees to win the 2017 Citizens’ Award. This week, we will preview the entries in each category, beginning with Businesses.
- Pilot project using active network management (Antwerp, Belgium). The energy generated by wind turbines rises and falls as the weather changes, but electricity grids cannot always cope with these fluctuations. This project trials a way of connecting 'smart' turbines to the grid: this reduces wastage when large amounts of energy are being produced and stops the network becoming overloaded. So far, the turbines have provided at least 11 000 MWh more electricity to the network than would have been possible with a traditional connection.
- Bright Programme (Lisbon, Portugal). This is an audit and management programme that aims to improve energy efficiency in shopping centres, which often use a lot of energy in heating, cooling, air-conditioning and lighting. The programme covers all aspects of energy efficiency savings, from site analysis and recommendations to monitoring subsequent consumption. The programme has recommended 218 improvements in the 28 centres it has assessed across Europe, with 182 already implemented and a further 36 in progress.
- Sinbio – Sustainable Innovation in Bioenergy (Trebišov, Slovakia). A biomass boiler facility converts local straw, hay and woody material into renewable energy. As a result, the town's local CO2 emissions have been reduced by around 6100 tons a year, and this new source of energy has replaced around 90% of the gas fuel previously used for heating. Local land not suitable for other agricultural purposes is now being used to grow fast-growing plants for the boiler.
'Clean Energy for All Europeans' package
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