A total $4 million is awarded annually to organisations, individuals and high schools, and this initiative is a world-leader for recognizing outstanding contributions and inspirational commitments to a global future of renewable energy and sustainable development.
Since its inception in 2008 by the UAE leadership, there have been 48 winners and through these winners the prize has positively touched the lives of more than 202 million people worldwide.
The winners’ combined accomplishments include:
- Connecting 57 million households to solar-powered electricity;
- Enabling energy access for 2.5 million families in rural Africa;
- Providing 7 million people with clean and affordable drinking water;
- Preventing 887 million tonnes of carbon emissions; and
- Reducing energy consumption in 50 million homes.
Past winners include Panasonic, Siemens and BYD in the Large Corporations category, Kenyan firm M-KOPA and US-based D:Light in the SME category, Indonesian Kopernik and Philippine-based Liter of Light in the Non-Profit Organisation category, and visionaries in sustainability, such as Dr. Gro Brundtland and Al Gore, who both received the Lifetime Achievement award. One school from each of the five geographical regions can also win a grant annually to implement a project proposal that they submit to the prize.
Source: Zayed Future Energy Prize, REM
