ABU DHABI, UAE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Zayed Future Energy Prize, the largest international recognition award for innovation, performance and leadership in sustainable and renewable energy solutions, today announced a 30% year-on-year increase in the final number of submissions for the 2011 global competition. A total of 391 official submissions from the most innovative minds in the fields of renewable and sustainable energy have entered to compete for the $2.2 million (USD) prize fund, which will be awarded in January 2011 in Abu Dhabi. An additional 959 third-party nominations have been received, identifying individuals and organizations of merit to be considered by the Selection Committee. In all, 69 nations will be represented in the 2011 competition.

The $2.2 Million Zayed Future Energy Prize, now in its third year, is inspired by the vision and environmental stewardship of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founding Father and President of the United Arab Emirates. First prize award is USD $1.5 million, and up to two finalists may be selected by the jurors to win an additional $350,000 each.

An independent research and analysis company, together with the Zayed Future Energy Prize administration team and official review committee, have begun their due diligence in reviewing the more than 300 total entries. During the selection process, each submission and nomination undergoes a rigorous and transparent evaluation to identify the top 100 entries. The judging and evaluations process is based on three main criteria: long-term vision, innovation and leadership. The review committee will reduce the field to 40, from which the selection committee will determine the top six to be presented to the jury as finalists. The winners will be selected by unanimous decision of the expert jury and awarded a total prize fund of $2.2 million (USD) on 18 January 2011 at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Dr. R.K. Pachauri of India, the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Chairman of the WMO/UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, leads the 2011 prize jury, which also includes Olafur Ragner Grisson, President of the Republic of Iceland; Susan Hockfield, President of MIT; and Jeremy Rifkin, author, President of the Foundation on Economic Trends and Advisor to the European Union, among other notables.

More information can be found at www.ZayedFutureEnergyPrize.com

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About Zayed Future Energy Prize

The Zayed Future Energy Prize was created in honour of the legacy of the late Founding Father and President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The prize aims to inspire the next generation of global energy innovators to create solutions for the future. The Prize is awarded annually to individuals, companies or organisations that have made significant contributions in the global response to the future of energy, climate change and sustainable global energy resources.

Past winners of the Zayed Future Energy Prize reflect the diversity of efforts to solve what many believe is our greatest 21st Century challenge: creating sustainable highly productive low carbon economies, and their work has been sustained by the competition’s prize fund. In 2009, Dipal Barua was selected for his work in developing a highly successful market-based sustainable model for providing power to off-grid rural populations in Bangladesh. Through his company, Grameen Shakti, Mr. Barua facilitated the construction of 245,000 home solar system installations in Bangladesh, bringing electricity to 2.2 million people at a cost no greater than kerosene. With his award, Mr. Barua has established a scholarship programme to train rural women to be solar technicians. In 2010, Toyota Motor Corp. was honoured for the company’s commitment and long-term vision to reduce carbon emissions, as exemplified in the first mass-produced hybrid, car -- the third generation Toyota Prius. At the time of the award, more than 1.6 million Prius vehicles had been sold, resulting in cumulative reductions of approximately 7 million tons of CO2.

Past Finalists:

Dr. Martin Green - Australian Federation Fellow and Scientia Professor at the University of New South Wales, Sydney.

Dr. Zhengrong Shi - Founder of Suntech Power Holdings Company.

Amitabha Sadangi - CEO of International Development Enterprises,India (IDEI), a social enterprise dedicated to providing long-term solutions to poverty, malnutrition, and hunger.