"As the world depletes its oil stock, something has to replace oil for
transport, and hydrogen is a strong contender," said the judges about the
HARI Project. "This practical demonstration of diverse renewable energy
capture integrated into a hydrogen system is truly inspiring."
The HARI Project is a research initiative investigating the provision of
continuous power from a variety of renewable sources in a stand-alone
energy system at West Beacon Farm in Leicestershire. It incorporates two
25 kilowatt (kW) wind turbines, 9 kW of photovoltaics, 4 kW of hydropower,
a heat pump and 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of battery storage supplemented
by a hydrogen energy storage system consisting of a 42 kW electrolyzer (to
produce hydrogen from collected rainwater), a hydrogen storage facility
and two fuel cells of 2 kW and 5 kW that produce electricity, heat and
water.
The HARI Project shared this category's award with the Springhill
Cohousing Community in Stroud. The awards are given for projects covering
a range of eight categories, including local authorities, commercial
projects, private owners, solar architecture, media, transport and
extraordinary personal commitment.
According to Eurosolar UK, "Through these real projects, [the winners]
have given outstanding service to the promotion of renewable energy."
Along with the other nine winners, the HARI Project will be put forward
for consideration for the European Eurosolar Awards, which are presented
annually to "inspiring renewable energy projects" by Energy21, the UK
branch of Eurosolar, which links a national network of renewable energy
groups.
Eurosolar, the European Solar Energy Association, believes that "the
development of renewable energy is the issue of key importance in the 21st
century, as the basis of new lasting economic policies." Its goal is "the
replacement of nuclear and fossil fuels with environmentally sound
energies such as sunlight, wind energy, biomass, hydropower and ocean
energies."
Rupert Gammon, director of Bryte Energy, the company that manages the HARI
system, said, "This prestigious award is a testament to the hard work that
our team, CREST [of Loughborough University] and Prof Marmont [of Beacon
Energy] have put into this unique project. Field trials like this provide
crucial input to the vitally important debate on this country's future
energy supply that is currently underway. It is very gratifying to receive
this award and it offers a platform for spreading the message about
sustainable energy wider."