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Eddie O’Connor, founder and CEO of Mainstream Renewable Power, was presented with the first ever Leadership award at the annual Ernst & Young Global Renewable Energy Awards in London’s Science Museum last night. EU Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs was also nominated for the award.
Now in their sixth year, the awards are dubbed the “Green Oscars” and recognise the projects, companies and individuals who have made a significant contribution to the global renewable energy sector. Dr. O’Connor received the award in recognition of his” vision, leadership and personal commitment to advancing the renewable energy sector”.
Former CEO of Airtricity, Dr. O’Connor founded Mainstream Renewable Power in February of last year and during this time has created a significant pipeline of onshore and offshore wind farm projects in Europe, North America, South America and South Africa. Mainstream was shortlisted for the “Entrepreneurial Developer of the Year” award at last night’s ceremony.
Dr. O’Connor is widely known for his personal commitment to bringing forward the concept of the European Offshore Supergrid – a vision of electricity interconnectivity which has the power and scale to transform the outlook for European energy security. Large-scale grid interconnection has been adopted as EU energy policy, and a number of EU member States are looking closely at the concept as part of their efforts to meet the challenge of the 2020 and 2050 carbon reduction targets.
Commenting at the awards ceremony, Dr. O’Connor said “I am both humbled and honoured to be recognised by my peers in this way. The world is going through a once-off transition to sustainability and we need more people with the vision and the commitment to look beyond the here and now. We’ve built this world of ours on fossil fuels and now we have to un-build it and completely revolutionise not only the way we generate our electricity but the way we deliver it to consumers. The European Offshore Supergrid has the potential to achieve energy independence for Europe as well as reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. I am personally and wholeheartedly committed to realising this potential”.
Dr. O’Connor was named world energy policy leader by Scientific American magazine in 2003 and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science from University College Dublin in June 2008. He holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering and a Masters in Industrial Engineering and has a doctorate in Business Administration from the International Management Centres, Europe. He is Secretary of the European Wind Energy Association.