Article date:25 March 2009
Written by:Jose Espinosa
Sustain were double winners at last night's CHPA Awards 2008 ceremony
The Combined Heat and Power Association (CHPA) re-introduced its awards after a break of some seven years, to recognise and showcase achievements in this increasingly successful and dynamic industry.
Sustain's first success of the evening came in the Community Award, sponsored by AEA. The Community Award, sponsored by AEA, highlights the CHP project, programme or initiative which has had the greatest impact in securing both environmental benefits and wider benefits to the community or communities in which it has been taken forward.
Sustain were presented with the Community Award for their work on the Nabarro Court sheltered housing scheme in Nottingham.
Nabarro Court is a sheltered housing scheme of 42 units, which now provides secure and affordable energy to its elderly and vulnerable residents from a CHP unit, modern gas boilers and a 40m2 solar thermal system.
Through an imaginative approach to refurbishing energy systems, sound feasibility work and an understanding of how technologies can be integrated, the scheme is delivering both cost and carbon savings, and acting as an exemplar for similar projects around Nottinghamshire.
Lord Whitty, President of the CHPA, and Mahmoud Abu-Ebid of AEA presented the Community Award to Richards Kingcott and Kevin Boniface of Sustain at the CHPA's Annual Dinner at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Graham Meeks, Director of the CHPA, stated that: "the CHPA Awards Judging Panel commended this scheme for its provision of sustainable and cost effective energy to vulnerable households, and the positioning of CHP at the heart of a combination of technologies and partners working together."
Later in the evening, there was more joy for Sustain as their consultant Katie Gent was presented with the President's Award for Emerging Talent.
This award, sponsored by Vital Energi, recognises emerging talent in the CHP industry, highlighting the outstanding contribution made by a junior member of a team towards the objectives of their organisation and to the wider development of the industry.
Katie received the award for her work developing the EC Power CHP Calculator, which helps developers to assess the technical and financial feasibility of CHP for new build projects. Katie's work is encouraging take-up of CHP within the new build sector and helping to bridge the gap between developers and local authority planners.
Other successes at the CHPA Awards included:
- Innovation Award - presented to Baxi Group for its development and field trials of the Baxi Ecogen micro-CHP unit
- Sustainable Development Award, sponsored by Nabarro - presented to Birmingham Heartlands Hospital and Ener-G Combined Power Ltd for their state-of-the-art trigeneration installation at an acute hospital
- Champion Award - presented to Tesco for their significant investment in CHP and trigeneration and their commitment to deploying both proven and innovative technologies across their stores
- The President's Award for Services to CHP, sponsored by Vital Energi, was presented to Michael King for his long-standing commitment and dedication to developing the CHP and community heating sector in the UK
