On September 5th, a webinar was held to present the Xth International Award «Distributed Power Generation - Great Achievements» Maxim Zagornov, President of the Distributed Power Generation Association, and members of the Award’s Expert Council discussed the contest’s history, this year’s innovations, and the current state of the distributed energy sector. Samuel Mao, Director of the ASPIRE Research Institute for Sustainable Energy, co-chair of the UAE University Climate Network, and Professor at Khalifa University, has logged in the webinar studio too. This year, Professor Mao has joined the Award’s Expert Council.
As Maxim Zagornov, President of the Small Energy Association, pointed out, the International Award «Distributed Power Generation - Great Achievements» has been held annually since 2013. Today, it stands as the primary industry award recognizing outstanding projects in the field of small-scale distributed energy. Since 2018, the project has received full support from the All-Russian Public Organization “Business Russia”.
«The entrepreneurial community always closely follows the trends in our industry, seeking out projects and technologies that can reduce energy costs and enhance energy reliability» the expert shared. «And the winners of the award often leave the contest not only with the main award - the «Golden Lightning» statuette, a kind of «Quality Mark» in small-scale energy - but also with new contracts from the business community».
Maxim Zagornov highlighted that over the past 10 years, the contest has seen participation from over 600 companies from 12 countries, with 37 companies emerging as winners, forming a «golden pool» of industry talent. In 2021, the contest was held in an experimental format, taking place on the grounds of the WETEX International Exhibition in Dubai. In 2024, it returned to the calendar of significant events in a revamped format. The expert explained that the main innovation of this year’s award involved changes to the contest categories and an expansion of the Expert Council. This year, it has been strengthened by experts from the United Arab Emirates and China.
Maxim Zagornov encouraged interested companies to participate in the award. «This will not only allow you to showcase your projects or developments to a highly interested business audience on a prestigious platform, but also gain valuable insights into industry trends, understand which generation equipment to work with, and chart your future direction. Participate and win!» said Maxim Zagornov.
Pavel Ilyushin, a member of the Award’s Expert Council and head of the Center for «Intelligent Power Systems and Distributed Energy» at the Institute for Energy Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, confirmed the value of the contest for the industry community. «The award allows specialists in the field of small-scale distributed energy to examine cutting-edge projects, share technical advancements with each other, and ultimately facilitate the widespread adoption of these developments» the expert noted.
Pavel Ilyushin also shared information about the 50th CIGRE session held in Paris this past summer, which focused on developing a roadmap for the future energy system. This is a key event in the activities of the largest international association in the power sector, bringing together experts from over 100 countries. Pavel Ilyushin highlighted the priority topics that captured the attention of the global scientific community: electric transportation, the use of energy storage in off-grid power systems, low-voltage grids, and technological solutions to improve the accessibility of electricity and heat supply for consumers.
«This issue hasn’t received enough attention in our country. Additionally, there are certain difficulties and challenges with the reliability of electricity supply. Many owners of small and medium-sized businesses, and even large industrial enterprises, not only want but are compelled by economic and technological factors to develop distributed energy in order to ensure reliable electricity supply to consumers. I believe our award is very important, helping us to act together and identify new areas for growth» noted Pavel Ilyushin.
Sergey Alekseenko, a member of the Expert Council, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and scientific director of the Institute of Thermophysics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, agreed that the award helps expand horizons in the energy sector. In this sense, the introduction of a new category, «Scientific Research and Development in Small-Scale Distributed Energy» is a significant innovation for this year.
«There are many reasons for this» he said. «Perhaps most importantly, science is most closely aligned with small-scale energy. Here, you can propose an idea and bring it to fruition, unlike in large-scale energy. Furthermore, when we talk about new technologies that are being actively implemented in small-scale energy today, it’s simply impossible to do without science» the scientist emphasized.
Sergey Alekseenko identified key areas in small-scale energy where science could make a significant impact: heat pump technology and geothermal energy, specifically utilizing the heat of dry rocks at shallow depths. «Introducing this category will not only help attract scientists, including young ones, but will also lay the foundation for the emergence of future super-modern technologies» expressed Sergey Alekseenko.
Samuel Mao, expert from the United Arab Emirates - director of the ASPIRE Sustainable Energy Research Institute, co-chairman of the UAE Universities Climate Network, professor at Khalifa University, joined the webinar. His research interests encompass the development of renewable energy, which is currently a top priority in the Emirates. The scientist expressed gratitude for being invited to join the Expert Council of this prestigious Russian competition.
«It is a great honor for me to participate in this project. The award has very important nominations, which are of great professional interest to me» noted Professor Samuel Mao.
Boris Marcinkevich, a member of the competition’s Expert Council and editor-in-chief of the analytical online publication «Geoenergetika INFO», also emphasized the importance and significance not only of the award itself but of the entire small-scale energy sector. Citing statistics from the System Operator, the expert highlighted that Russia’s self-generation capacity has reached 15 gigawatts, and there are strong indications that these numbers will continue to grow in the near future.
«It is becoming clear that the current legal framework does not allow for solving energy problems at the pace required by real life. All plans for building large power plants are long-term projects» he said. «The situation in the Southern Power System that occurred this summer could repeat itself next year. There is a growing understanding that without small-scale energy, it will be impossible to quickly resolve the issues of electricity shortages and reduce accidents in the country» asserted Boris Marcinkevich.
At the conclusion of the webinar, Maria Nevolina, Executive Director of the Distributed Power Generation Association, invited potential contestants to participate in the award and outlined the requirements for contest materials. She emphasized that the submission period for the 10th International Award «DISTRIBUTED POWER GENERATION – GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS» will run until November 1st on the project website - https://energo-union.com/en
The webinar was moderated by Valery Zhikharev, a member of the Award’s Expert Council and Vice President of the Distributed Power Generation Association.
The recording of the webinar is available at - https://rutube.ru/video/9bd60b0e131d2531f9cca5b58150afe3/
