The Poul La Cour prize for outstanding contribution to wind energy has been awarded this year to Professor Arthouros Zervos.
The award was presented to Professor Zervos by Klaus Rave, Vice President of EWEA.
Speaking at the presentation of the award at the conference dinner of the EWEA 2013 Annual Event in Vienna, CEO of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) Christian Kjaer said: “It is hard to know where to begin to describe this year’s winner’s achievements. They are not limited to one area of work, or one organisation. They span education, science, R&D, policy making, representation of the industry and lobbying.”
Professor Zervos has taught wind energy at the National Technical University of Athens since 1982 and was responsible for Wind Energy in EUREC’s European Renewable Energy Master’s Degree taught at Universities across Europe.
He was scientific officer in the Renewable Energy Unit of DG Research of the European Commission from 1990-1995, and was lead author of the White Paper on Renewable Sources of Energy in 1997 – which led to the first Renewable Electricity Directive in 2001.
He has been: • President of the European Wind Energy Association since 2001; • President of the European Renewable Energy Council from 2000 to 2012, playing a major role in achieving the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive, the world’s most forward thinking renewable energy law; • Founder and chair of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) from 2005 until 2010; • Steering Committee member of European Wind Energy Technology Platform, TPWind, from 2007 to 2011.
Professor Zervos was “central in driving a somewhat reluctant industry to look beyond the European and North American ‘home markets’, and seriously engage in Asia and Latin America,” said GWEC Secretary General Steve Sawyer .
In December 2009, he became Chairman and CEO of Public Power Corporation of Greece, and Chairman of Public Power Corporation Renewables.
Christian Kjaer concluded: “The whole industry owes him an enormous debt of gratitude. His work on either of the two renewables directives would merit the Poul la Cour prize – but he has done so much more. For me it has been an honour and privilege to work with a profoundly decent man pursuing a noble vision.“
Professor Zervos said: “I’m a lucky man, as is all the generation that started in wind energy 35 years ago: we had a dream, a vision, which became reality. Not many people in their lifetimes experience that. We even saw it go beyond our dreams.”
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Press release, February 7, 2013; Image: EWEA