OREANDA-NEWS. RWE Deutschland’s model project Smart Country takes the GreenTec Award 2015 in the category “Energy“. On Friday night at the Berlin Tempodrom, CTO Dr. Joachim Schneider, on behalf of the energy company, received the award which the organizers consider to be Europe’s most significant independent environmental and economic award.

In the presence of the Minister of the German Chancellery, Peter Altmeier, the laudators D?sir?e Nosbusch, host and actress, and Boris Schucht, CEO of the transmission system operator 50hertz, presented the coveted trophy to Dr. Schneider. Altmeier: “The GreenTec Award is one of the most important prizes. Environmental protection and sustainability concern all of us. In Germany, we have proven that you can even earn money with it.” Since 2008, Altmeier has been honouring “green pioneers” from business and industry as well as young start-ups and initiatives at the GreenTec Awards.

Dr. Joachim Schneider commented on the significance of Smart Country: “We are delighted to have received this renowned award. In the Eifel region, where the Smart Country project is based, we have been working on promoting the transition of the energy system by means of innovative technology. The rapid growth of renewable energies requires a new grid structure. Smart Country provides ideas and solutions for how this structure could look like. The objective is to operate existing grids more economically and more efficiently. The GreenTec Award is a recognition of our work.”

The guests of the GreenTec Award included singer Nena as the winner in the category “Music”, world champion boxer Wladimir Klitschko as speaker, and Vanessa Fuchs, freshly crowned winner of “Germany’s Next Topmodel“.

Sebastian Ackermann, Head of Corporate Communications / Marketing RWE Deutschland: “We are extremely happy to have won this major award for RWE. It proves that we can successfully place the topic of energy transition in the middle of our society by means of unusual and comprehensible technical communication. For us, the prize represents an additional incentive."

Since 2011 in the Eifel district of Bitburg-Pr?m, RWE Deutschland has been exploring how to meet the challenges of electricity supply in rural regions by applying smart solutions and new technical components. The Smart Country model project integrates them into an existing distribution grid. Such components include an innovative biogas storage system as electricity storage facility, a CHP plant, PV systems, wind turbines, and state-of-the-art voltage regulators. In May 2012, RWE had received the State Award of Hesse for Intelligent Energy (Hessischen Staatspreis f?r intelligente Energie) for its Smart Country project.

“As an engineer, I am not used to being in the limelight, but it’s a great feeling,” said project manager Dr. Torsten Hammerschmidt. “We are proud of this award because it underpins the importance of this project as a contribution to the energy transition.“