2 OBE honourees and a host of CEOs make up our current Power 100 Top Ten

Two month’s ago we started the search for the 100 most influential voices in the European power generation industry and with three month’s left to go, ten nominees have already distinguished themselves from the pack.

Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power tops the list with a considerable lead. ITM Power designs and manufactures Hydrogen Energy Systems for Energy Storage and Clean Fuel production. Second on the list is Howard Johns, Founder of Southern Solar, a solar panel installation company based in the UK.

We are delighted to see Juliet Davenport in joint third place. As a recent honouree of an OBE and the only female chief executive in the UK’s renewables industry, Juliet is a true pioneer it is likely that she will continue to garner votes in the coming months. Another OBE recipient, Dale Vince also features on the list and as the founder of the first green electricity company in the world he is another truly influential figure in the European power generation industry.

As the search is pan-European in scope, we’re happy to see the list is fairly diverse; with nominees from Italy, Finland and Belgium in the top ten alone. There is also variety in speciality of the companies on the list, from anaerobic digestion to wind power; a broad spectrum of the energy mix is represented in the list.

Undoubtedly this top ten will change many times before June 6th so please keep an eye on our blog, where we’ll be tracking all movement on the list.

To let us know your choice, please send us a tweet at @POWERGENEUROPE, using the hashtag #Power100
e.g.

Kate Garratt @kate_garratt: @POWERGENEUROPE I’m voting for Frank Hyldmar of @Elster_global for the #Power100

Current Top Ten
1. Graham Cooley, CEO, ITM Power
2. Howard Johns, Founder and MD, Southern Solar
3. Juliet Davenport, CEO, Good Energy
4. Dale Vince, Founder, Ecotricity
5. CSDR Inc
6. Rick George, former CEO, Suncor Energy Inc
7. Fulvio Conti, CEO and General Manager, ENEL
8. Angie Bywater, Project Manager, Methanogen UK Ltd
9. Yrjö Norri, VP Sales, Kopar Group
10. Frank Hyldmar, CEO Electricity, Elster Group

POWER-GEN Europe Technical Tours 2012: Explore Germany’s energy industry firsthand

This year’s technical tours offer visitors to POWER-GEN Europe 2012 and Renewable Energy World Europe 2012 exclusive access to the BoA 1 Power Plant & Coal Innovation Centre in Bergheim Niederaußem and Windtest Grevenbroich Gmbh’s test field for wind energy systems, just outside Neuss.

In keeping with the theme of this year’s show, ‘integrating the power sector,’ the technical tours give an insight into power-generation in Germany today and show the variety of energy resources Germany relies on. Technical tourists will be given the opportunity to see firsthand how traditional fossil fueled power-stations operate and innovate in the face of carbon reduction laws at BoA1, but also get a glimpse of the future of sustainable power generation, through wind power, courtesy of Windtest Grevenbroich.

The BoA 1 Power Plant & Coal Innovation Centre

The BoA 1 Power Plant was the world’s most modern lignite-fired power-station unit when it went on stream in 2003.

Today it also serves as a ‘Coal innovation centre,’ a base for RWE to carry out research and development into CO₂ and how it can be used more safely. Participants will visit the interactive exhibition in RWE’s information centre as well as the power plant itself, gaining valuable insights which can be applied to other projects or plants.

Date: Monday, 11 June, 2012

Meeting Point: North Entrance Foyer, Koelnmesse

Meeting Time: 12:00pm

Duration: Approximately 2.5 hours (5.5 including travelling time)

Cost: €90

 Windtest Grevenbroich

Windtest Grevenbroich Gmbh’s wind turbine test field is the largest of its kind in the world. Cutting edge prototypes are currently tested and measured here as engineers strive to develop

more productive and cost effective turbines. The aim of this tour is to demonstrate how collected data from various measurements, such as stresses, performance curves or electrical characteristics can be used by companies to optimise their wind systems.

Date: Monday, 11 June, 2012

Meeting Time: 08:30am

Meeting Point: North Entrance Foyer, Koelnmesse

Duration: Approximately 2.5 hours (5 hours including travelling time)

Cost: €90

For more information on this year’s Technical Tours please take a look at the pre-show guide for POWER-GEN Europe 2012

Final day of POWER-GEN Europe – Conference picks

Today is the final day of POWER-GEN Europe and one session not to be missed is Track 1 – Session 7: Power Industry: Outreach & Engagement, which will look at how the power industry is perceived by the public and what it can do to improve its image.

If fossil fuels are to remain in the long-term power generation mix, then a key issue to be addressed is the fuel resources’ sizable carbon footprint. That issue will be the subject of discussion in track 2: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Fossil Power Generation.

Gas plant operation and optimization is the focus of Track 3: Gas Fired Power Technology and its Session 6. Bhupinder Dayal, LM 6000 Package Programs Manager, with GE Aero Energy in the USA, offers the paper “Inlet Air Conditioning Solution for Gas Turbines.”

And for those delegates with a keen interest in Plant Diagnostics, session 7 offers “Advanced Ultrasonic Application for the Inspection of Turbine Components,” by Michael Opheys, R&D Engineer, Energy Sector, Siemens AG, Germany.