2019 Clean Energy Council Award winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2019 Clean Energy Council Awards.

Outstanding Contribution to Industry Award Winner - Simon Corbell

The Clean Energy Council has awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Industry Award to Simon Corbell for his years of tireless work for the industry.

As the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for the Environment in the ACT, Simon advocacy for a strong climate change policy for Canberra saw the ACT achieve national and international recognition as a best-practice jurisdiction, on track for 100 per cent renewable energy by 2020. After leaving politics, Simon then served as the Victorian Renewable Energy Advocate from 2008-2016.

Innovation Award Winner - Networks Renewed

Networks Renewed, a partnership between AusNet Services, Essential Energy and the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University Technology Sydney, won the Innovation Award for its trial project demonstrating that customer-owned solar PV and battery storage systems can provide voltage regulation services on the distribution network. The trial proved that voltage can be suppressed during high solar export periods by controlling reactive power capabilities of residential smart inverters. This solution has enabled increased solar hosting capacity on the network and allowed our customers to generate more solar energy.

Community Engagement Award Winner - Mondo

Mondo won the Community Engagement Award for its work with community energy group Totally Renewable Yackandandah to develop a mini-grid project in the small Victorian town of Yackandandah that would enable it to get 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2022. By early 2019, the mini-grid had generated 1 GWh of locally produced renewable energy, saving the community more than $160,000 in energy costs and 1112 metric tonnes of CO2-e.

Marketing and Communications Award Winner - Vicinity Centres

Vicinity Centres won the Marketing and Communications Award for the implementation of a communications campaign to promote its Integrated Energy Strategy to a diverse set of stakeholders and put renewable energy at the heart of its communities. The campaign utilised assets within Vicinity’s 60+ shopping centres as well as garnering national and local media coverage, reaching an audience of more than 1.8 million people.

Award finalists

Innovation Award finalists

• Vicinity Centres implemented its Integrated Energy Strategy across its footprint of 60+ shopping centres in communities around Australia. Creating ‘intelligent energy destinations’ has provided a buffer from the volatility of the energy market, making Vicinity more sustainable and energy resilient. The program has embedded several industry-leading energy innovations, including Australian retail’s first storage battery, the first Australian property trial of bifacial solar panels and the construction of the world’s first fully transparent solar glass building.
  
  
• Western Power partnered with Synergy on the PowerBank trial, an Australian first project that integrates a 105 kW Tesla battery into an already established major metropolitan network to allow a shared storage service to meet individual customer needs. For $1 a day, customers participating in the trial can virtually store excess power they generate during the day from their solar PV systems in the battery and then draw down on that power during peak times.

Community Engagement Award finalists

• Beon Energy Solutions implemented a strategic employment program for the Karadoc Solar Farm that provided work for more than 250 people from the local community, including recently arrived migrants, members of the local Aboriginal community, people with disabilities and people on community-based correction orders. Most of the workers and apprentices employed by Beon continue to work for the company or in the wider solar industry.
  
  
• Horizon Power developed the Solar Incentives Scheme to allow large remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia’s Kimberley region to install solar systems. The $1.07 million scheme has co-funded 900 kW of community owned solar in eight remote Aboriginal communities, reducing their reliance on diesel fuel, electricity costs for community corporations and the cost of subsidising remote electricity services.

Marketing and Communications Award finalists

• Positive Good worked with global storage manufacturer sonnen to launch its presence in South Australia alongside the commencement of the SA Home Battery Scheme. Working to an eight-week timeline, Positive Good’s creative platform tapped into the emotional appeal of reviving manufacturing at a former Holden factory. The extensive marketing campaign encompassed print, digital and physical advertising, and resulted in more than 750 media stories and a reach of over 2.8 million people.
  
  
• Solaray Energy introduced a new content strategy that involved writing a series of articles on its website answering some of the most common questions that people search for when researching residential solar. The strategy helped Solaray to stand out in the incredibly competitive online solar market and resulted in its website being ranked as the top solar power retailer in terms of authority on Google in Australia.