New Delhi, 8th September 2016: UBM India brought in the 2nd edition of the coveted Renewable Energy India (REI ) Awards on 6th September, 2016 at Greater Noida, as a prelude to the 10thAnnual Renewable Energy India Expo. The Renewable Energy India Awards, organised with Ernst and Young, the process Advisors of the event, honoured excellence in the various facets of the Renewable Energy project development and performance. These included Renewable Energy developers, manufacturers and individuals among others for their achievements and contributions. The awards unveiled industry champions to a global audience on the parameters of excellence and innovation in the renewable energy space. The Awards night also saw a galaxy of renewable energy stalwarts notably Mr Hans-Josef Fell, President, Energy Watch Group, energy adviser and member of the Environmental Protection Committe, eminent experts from the government and enterprise in attendance.
The evening began with the opening speech by Mr. Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India followed by a keynote address by Dr. A K Tripathi, Advisor, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy ( MNRE ).
The panel discussion for the evening themed “Transition to the Future Grid –The Market and Technology Perspective,” saw industry veterans discuss the dynamics of moving towards a smarter and flexible grid. The session chaired by Dr. Pramod Deo, Former Chair Person, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission included eminent experts — Mr. K S Popli, CMD, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), Dr. Bharat Bhargava, Director General, ONGC Energy Centre, Mr. Pankaj Batra, Chief Engineer, Central Electricity Authority and Mr. Shuvendu Bose, Executive Director, Advisory Services, Ernst & Young and Dr. Bibek Bandyopadhyay, Former Advisor MNRE and Senior Adviser, PACE D Technical Assistance Program.
The winners in the nomination categories included:
Under the Sub Category, ‘Leading Renewable Energy ( RE ) Developers’, the winners were: Acme Cleantech Solutions that won the Leading Developer in Solar award, Mytrah Energy India Private Limited which bagged the Leading Developer in Wind award and Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd which was chosen for The Leading Developer in Biomass award.
In the ‘EPC’ category, Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd won the award. In the ‘Leading Manufacturer’ category, Emmvee Photovoltaic Power Private Limited won the Leading Manufacturers in Solar Award, Suzlon Energy Ltd for Leading RE Manufacturers in Wind, and Punjab Renewable Energy Systems Private Limited for Leading RE Manufacturers – Biomass. The State of Odisha was awarded under the ‘State Load Despatch Centre’ category. Panasonic India Private Limited bagged the award for ‘Leading Renewable Energy Storage Solution Provider’ & Schneider Electric India Private Limited for ‘Leading RE Technology / Product Innovation’.
The winners in the Prestigious Jury category included: Dr Pramod Deo, Former Chairperson, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission who was honoured with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his great contributions to the energy sector and bringing in energy reforms as the longest serving energy regulator; Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines was awarded the ‘Transformative Leadership Award’ for his contributions in bringing major changes to the power sector and the Renewable Energy sector in the country and helping boost the Renewable energy capacity across the country. He is also responsible for the introduction of Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) to pull the state distribution companies out of their financial and operational inefficiencies.
Shri Upendra Tripathy, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, won the award for ‘Renewable Energy Crusader of the Year’ for his initiatives in this sector and attempts to replace the traditional form of governance and moving to a more open and response delivery system.
Mr. Tulsi Tanti was bestowed with the ‘Industry Man of the Year’ award for his pioneering contributions to the wind and RE sector while Mr. Rana Kapoor, CEO, YES BANK, won the Pioneer in Renewable Energy Funding award. His initiatives in the funding arena include signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IREDA to boost green energy financing. Yes Bank had committed to a target funding of 500 MW of clean energy every year at the UN Climate Summit in New York in 2014, and topped the target with funding for 1,100 MW of projects in that year. Yes Bank was also the first bank to give the ‘Green Energy Commitment’ to the Govt. of India during RE-INVEST 2015, for financing 5,000 MW of renewable energy projects in 5 years. IREDA was awarded the ‘Best funding Agency of the year’ and TERI for ‘Renewable Energy Think-tank’. The ‘Special Recognition’ awards went to Paschim Group for ‘Leading RE Developers in Hydro’ and Britannia Industries Limited for ‘Leading RE Investor’.
The esteemed panel of Jury represented some of the best names in the renewable energy industry and included, Mr. Ajit Gupta, Former Advisor MNRE; Mr. K S Popli, CMD, IREDA; Dr. Bibek Bandyopadhyay, Former Advisor MNRE and Senior Adviser, PACE D Technical Assistance Program;Ms. Rajasree Ray, Economic Advisor MNRE, Dr. S N Srinivas, Programme Analyst, UNDP; Mr. Pankaj Batra, Chief Engineer, Central Electricity Authority and Mr. Shirish Garud, Director and Senior Fellow, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).