16 May 2020

The prestigious 2019 IHA Mosonyi Award for Excellence in Hydropower was jointly awarded to three leading members of the hydropower community, at an awards ceremony at the World Hydropower Congress in Paris on 15 May.

The award went to: Karin Seelos, Statkraft Vice President (Power Generation and International Affairs); Refaat Abdel Malek, Former President of IHA and Vice Chairman of MWH Global; and Yan Zhiyong, Chairman of Power Construction Corporation of China.    

Karin Seelos was recognised by the judging panel for her long-standing commitment to hydropower sustainability, which has had a major impact on the profession. Her work, including on an IHA White Paper on Hydropower and Sustainable Development, helped form the foundation for sector-wide sustainability guidelines and assessment tools. This helped catalyse a revolution of policy and thinking in the sector.

On receiving her award, Ms Seelos said “I am very grateful and deeply honoured to receive this prestigious award and would like to thank the IHA Board for this recognition. I was lucky to gain experience from some of the world’s leading hydropower utilities, Hydro-Québec in French Canada, and Statkraft in Norway."

Ms Seelos reflected on the “tremendous journey” that the hydropower sector has undergone in the past two decades since IHA was established. Hydropower is now considered a “key resource to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change”, she said.

“I hope the sector will continue its collaborative journey, focusing on gaining and sharing knowledge as an important part of the renewables family. Being part of the solution will be key to our success.”

Refaat Abdel Malek was President of IHA between 2007 and 2013, during which time he contributed to the development of the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol. Under his leadership, IHA led outreach to civil society organisations and governmental agencies supporting development around the world. He contributed actively to the participation of Latin American and Chinese organisations in international forums and to sharing knowledge in an inclusive way.

Mr Malek said: “I am grateful for the IHA for the excellent recognition through the IHA Mosonyi Award. The highlight of my career is to be a part of the IHA effort, together with other colleagues and organisations, to achieve the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol. This is an achievement that returned the development of hydropower to the forefront of sustainable energy around the world.”

Yan Zhiyong was recognised for his contribution to the development of China’s hydropower industry and for his commitment to implement sustainability practices. With a philosophy of ‘people oriented green development’, he has organised and participated in formulating renewable energy development master plans for around 100 countries. He started as a designer in hydropower planning, then became the President of the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute before he was Chairman of Power Construction Corporation of China.

Named after the renowned engineer Prof Dr Emil Mosonyi, IHA’s founding President, the award is for one or more of the following:

• a long-standing commitment or initiative that has had a major impact on the profession;
• a specific hydropower project, the performance of an organisation or the hydropower sector in general; or
• an aspect of hydropower sustainability (technical, economic, social or environmental) or a broad-ranging initiative, such as national-level or basin-level strategic planning.

The winners receive lifetime honorary membership with IHA and guest registration to the 2019 World Hydropower Congress.

The Mosonyi award was one of three presented at the 2019 World Hydropower Congress, along with the IHA Blue Planet Prize and the IHA Young Researcher Award.