ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nominations and submissions for the 2011 Zayed Future Energy Prize are now being accepted at www.ZayedFutureEnergyPrize.com. The prize awards $1.5 million dollars to the winner and up to two finalists receive $350,000 dollars each. The prize encourages innovation across a wide spectrum of renewable energy solutions, energy conservation and sustainability.

Nominations and Submissions will be received online at www.ZayedFutureEnergyPrize.com until 8^th October 2010.

The Prize follows a rigorous and transparent selection process that features two committees and a jury comprised of leading international figures in the field. The jury is headed by Dr. R.K. Pachauri – the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and current Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Submissions are judged on three primary criteria:

• Innovation: proof of cutting-edge concepts and solutions that solve today’s energy and sustainability challenges.
• Long-term vision: demonstration of ability to scale through a commercially-viable or sustainable business model.
• Leadership: championing vision to advance clean energy and sustainable solutions.

The three-round consideration process ensures consistency and transparency. It begins with the Review Committee, responsible for evaluating submissions and identifying those that fulfill entry criteria. This group of entries then progresses to the Selection Committee for judging consideration and short-listing. Short-listed entries must receive the support of all Selection Committee members. The final winner and up to two finalists are selected unanimously by the Prize Jury.

“The Zayed Future Energy Prize is a tribute to the environmental legacy of H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late Ruler of Abu Dhabi and Founding Father of the United Arab Emirates. His passion for environmental sensitivity and conservation is an integral part of Abu Dhabi, its leadership, and its economy. This tradition has perpetuated itself over decades and serves as the inspiration behind this annual acknowledgement and reward,” said Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Director General of the Zayed Future Energy Prize.

“Recognizing that only a holistic and interconnected response to the challenges of global warming and energy security will be successful and that renewable energy solutions will emerge from a wide range of disciplines, this award has been structured to address that reality and encourage innovation across a wide range of activities,” continued Al Jaber.

Dr. Pachauri, who chairs the jury for the third consecutive year, said: “The continually evolving nature of our renewable energy challenges provides a fresh opportunity each year for those exploring innovative solutions in this field. Over the past two years, the prize has helped raise the profile of its winners, inspired thousands of budding innovators and focused attention on the promise of exciting renewable energy developments.”

Over the past two years, the prize has witnessed nominations grow from 204 in 2009 to 633 in 2010, with submissions being received from across 86 countries; a growth of 210%.

The uniquely broad scope of the award has honored such diverse winners as Toyota Motor Corporation and a Bangladeshi entrepreneur whose market-based business model brought solar power to two million people in off-grid rural communities. Finalists have included a scientist from Australia, a businessman whose China-based company is the world’s largest maker of photovoltaic panels, and from India, a provider of a low-cost, low-energy irrigation technology for rural farmers.

For more information please visit www.ZayedFutuerEnergyPrize.com

*Source: ME NewsWire

View this release online on: http://www.me-newswire.com/news/1976

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6327932&lang=en

ZFEP Officer
Amira Al Najjar, +971-2-653-6028
aalnajjar@masdar.ae

Group Photo. (Photo: Business Wire)