At the 2011 Australian Engineering Excellence Awards dinner, the Bushlight India Project was awarded the highest honour by winning the Sir William Hudson Award for engineering excellence. This gala event was hosted by Engineers Australia’s National President, Merv Lindsay, at the Great Hall of Parliament House Canberra on Wednesday 23 November.
The Engineers Australia Sir William Hudson Award was presented by Brett Jones, Executive Officer Production, Snowy Hydro Limited, to Michael Tuckwell, Senior Project Manager of CAT Projects, Paul Rodden, Senior Project Engineer of CAT Projects and Lyndon Frearson, General Manager of CAT Projects.
The Bushlight India Project demonstrates a fine integration of Australian Engineering with community organisations using renewable energy to provide electricity to remote villages in India who otherwise don’t have power. Utilising $2 million in funding from the Australian Government as part of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, the Bushlight India Project has given opportunities to countless small businesses. The project model is unique for its service philosophy of providing an agreed, assured amount of energy – available 24/7 – to all consumers. This is achieved through a consultative energy planning process and a low cost household energy meter. This project has the potential to impact over 150,000 remote villages in India, and potential for export throughout the developing world.
The Bushlight India Project was selected from 50 national finalists. The judges were particularly impressed by the way in which the project developed robust and practical systems for providing improved living conditions for hundreds of thousands of people. The project has been successful in building strong community partnerships across a culturally sensitive environment.
