Mott MacDonald wins top power award for innovation in technology
Mott MacDonald, together with Beacon Power, has been named the winner of the Energy Institute (EI) Technology Award for the groundbreaking Stephentown flywheel energy storage plant in New York State, USA. Aijuan Wang, Mott MacDonald’s strategy director for transmission and distribution, collected the award at an awards ceremony on 17 November 2011 at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel, London.
As the world’s first grid-scale flywheel energy storage facility, the 20MW Stephentown plant is a power sector landmark, demonstrating the commercial viability of a major technical innovation. Mott MacDonald provided the detailed electrical design of the substation and acted as project managers during the study and installation of the plant.
The judges were impressed by how flywheel energy storage enables effective balancing of power supply and demand, a challenge that has dogged the electricity industry for many years. Flywheels provide an instant response to frequency fluctuations, storing power when demand is low and returning it to the grid when demand surges.
Aijuan Wang said of the award win: “The Energy Institute is the professional body for the energy industry, delivering good practice and professionalism across the depth and breadth of the sector so it is great to be honoured by them with this award. Our power engineers in Boston worked very hard on this project and it is a fantastic achievement, which shows that innovation in energy storage has made an important contribution to the energy sector and will continue to do so in the future.”
The EI Awards recognise innovation and excellence amongst individuals and organisations working in the global energy sector. This year’s event was hosted by EI chief executive Louise Kingham OBE, while physicist and BBC Science presenter, Professor Brian Cox OBE attended as a guest speaker.
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Notes for editors:
Further information on the Stephentown flywheel energy storage plant is available by request.
Media Enquiries:
Tom Smith
44 (0) 20 8774 2205
tom.smith@mottmac.com
Christina de Burgh-Milne
44 (0) 20 8774 3639
christina.deburgh-milne@mottmac.com
Lee Lodge
44 (0) 20 8774 2040
lee.lodge@mottmac.com
About Mott MacDonald
Mott MacDonald is a global management, engineering and development consultancy with more than 14,000 staff, £1 billion revenue and work in 140 countries for the public and private sectors. The employee-owned company is ranked 13th in the 2011 Sunday Times 25 Best Big Companies to Work For survey and was awarded Engineering Consultant of the Year at the 2011 Building Awards. Mott MacDonald’s core business sectors cover buildings, transport, energy, water, environment, health, education, industry, oil and gas, communications and international development.
More information can be found at http://www.mottmac.com/
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