The jury chaired by Maneka Gandhi, Minister of Environment of India, included Arthouros Zervos, President of the European Renewable Energy Council and Don Baker, President of Center for Sustainability and Economic Growth in California, among other prominent persons linked to environment around the world. To this award 796 projects from 111 countries were applied.
The kick off of the informal meeting of Environment Ministers of the European Union, held in Prague, Czech Republic, the award winners were announced in the official Gala where the President of the European Union - Mirek Topolánek, European Commissioner for Environment - Stavros Dimas, the Environment Ministers from European Union, among many other personalities of the Environment, Politics and from World Economy participated. The gala was broadcast on television in several European countries.
The "Rock in Rio 2008 – Escola Solar" had also won the National Award for Portugal as the best national project and now in the world-class category "Youth", this innovative project developed by the Rock in Rio in partnership with ADENE and with the technical implementation and Sponsoring from Lobosolar see its international merit recognized.
To the winners in each category were awarded with 10.000€. In the case of "Rock in Rio 2008 – Escola Solar", the money will be donated to Charity organizations selected by the social solidarity project “SIC Esperança”.
"This award confirms our belief that music is an excellent tool of communication. It was an amazing feeling to receive this award which highlighted the "Rock in Rio 2008 – Escola Solar" among excellent projects from all over the world. We thank the participation of 3.000 young people from 197 Portuguese schools that participated and all those who believed in the project! "Said Roberta Medina Vice President of the Rock in Rio
"The innovation and quality of this project was recognized by the Jury of undeniable international prestige. This victory belongs to each of the 3000 young people which belong to 197 schools throughout the continental territory and islands and whose dedication inspired us. This Recognition proud us as Portuguese and as Photovoltaic Industry pioneer. " said Rui Lobo from Lobosolar.
The other categories winners were:
“Earth” category - “Step Project” from Chile
“Water” category - “Water supply for Ngarenanyuki and Oldonyosambu”
“Air” category - “New approaches to sustainable mobility in Burgos” from Spain
“Fire” category and “Project of the Year” - “Burma Solar hospital project” from Myanmar
What is “Rock in Rio Escola Solar” conquest?
"Rock in Rio Escola Solar" is the name of the large integrated action in the Social Project Rock in Rio - Lisbon 2008, dedicated in the last edition, to environmental issues. Developed by the Rock in Rio in partnership with ADENE and with the technical implementation and support of Lobosolar, these competition had the support of the Ministry of Education through DGIDC, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation through DGEG and the Ministry of Environment . Beside this institutional support, this Social project had the sponsorship of BP, the LG, Vodafone and the Controlinveste (through the brands Diário de Notícias and Jornal de Notícias) and “SIC Esperança” as a social partner.
This national competition helped equip 20 schools across the country with small photovoltaic systems. The energy produced by these panels will be sold to the network and 100% of funds will be donated to social projects through “SIC Esperança”. This project will ensure the donation of about 50 thousand Euros per year over the 20 year life time of the panels. In addition to this source of revenue, the photovoltaic systems enable further awareness of the thematics linked to renewable energy and climate change within the youth audience.
At "Rock in Rio Escola Solar" attended about 3000 students and 246 teachers among 197 schools with second and third cycles of basic and secondary education, have been admitted projects intended to energy efficiency and reducing emissions of gases responsible for Greenhouse effect. The funds raised by energy production of the systems will be distributed to several NGO's .http://rockinrio-
“Rock in Rio Escola Solar” Technical Highlights
200 High-Quality photovoltaic Modules type Renewis® PV175-M were installed on the World Stage "Rock in Rio Lisboa 2008", They served as scenic element and promoted contact with the technology to millions of viewers on site and on TV of the world's largest concert. This structure was then moved to Madrid. After the "Rock in Rio Madrid 2008" the installation work of the 20 photovoltaic systems has started, distributed over the 20 winning schools. The overall installation includes about 400 High Quality modules Renewis® PV175-M , 20 Siemens Sitop Inverters, Support Structures from Sikla.
