Anton-Louis Olivier of Renewable Energy Holdings, Kuang Shangfu of the China Institute of Water Resource and Hydropower Research (IWHR) and Eduard Wojcynski of Manitoba Hydro are the winners of the 2017 Mosonyi Award for Excellence in Hydropower.

The award was presented at the opening dinner of the 2017 World Hydropower Congress in Addis Ababa by IHA president Ken Adams.

Mr Olivier has been a leader in the development and implementation of small-scale hydropower projects in South Africa. In 2002 he developed a vision to use water from the Lesotho High Land project to generate power. After raising funding from the Dutch Government for feasibility studies, he raise sufficient funds to construct the project. At the time, the project was a first in many ways. It was the first project of its kind to obtain a generation license, PPA and water abstraction permit under the Water Act of 1986.

He is viewed as a pioneer in the industry in the southern African region and has helped advance the quality and the perception of small-scale hydropower, leading to a greater interest by other developers.

Dr Kuang, president of the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR) has spent over a decade promoting excellence in hydropower development and sustainability. He has been instrumental in facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experience not only in China but on a global scale, enabling many developing countries to improve their sustainable hydropower development.

Under Dr Kuang’s leadership, IWHR has provided research and consultancy services to almost all of China’s key hydropower projects and a further 150 projects in more than 30 countries. He has helped to develop an extensive talent pool, and has been instrumental in establishing IWHR as both the National Research Center for Sustainable Hydropower Development under China’s National Energy Administration, and the IHA China Office

Mr Wojczynski, formerly of Manitoba Hydro, has been involved in hydropower for most of his 35-year career. He was instrumental in driving major enhancements to the planning and implementation of hydropower projects in Manitoba resulting in greater emphasis on avoiding or mitigating environmental and social impacts, and increasing benefits of hydropower with the objective of projects being welcomed as an overall benefit to communities.

Among his many achievements, he has: improved the environmental and social characteristics of hydropower in Manitoba; supported hydropower research, climate change and lifecycle GHG analysis; and improved North American perceptions of hydropower as a preferable renewable resource and a climate change solution.

The award is named after Emil Mosonyi, the founding president of the International Hydropower Association. Prof Mosonyi, who passed away in 2009 aged 98, made major contributions to hydropower during his long career. Find out more about the award here.