Announcing AEE’s 2023 International Award Winners

من خلال برنامج الجوائز الدوليةتسلط جمعية مهندسي الطاقة (AEE) الضوء على العمل المهم الذي يقوم به الأفراد والمنظمات والوكالات والشركات. تحدد هذه الجوائز أولئك الذين يجسدون الأفضل في مجالاتهم.

The 2023 International Awards will be presented on Wednesday, October 27th at the International Awards Banquet, held in conjunction with the مؤتمر ومعرض الطاقة العالمية AEE.

Congratulations to the individuals, projects, and companies on their achievements this year!

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مهندس الطاقة للعام
Justin MacDonald

Justin MacDonald is a Senior Energy Engineer, and Team Lead for the energy services team at EastPoint Engineering Ltd. His energy services team services approximately 25% of the energy consulting market in Atlantic Canada. Prior to Eastpoint, Justin was the lead engineer for Dalhousie University for 5 years, resulting in a total energy reduction of 10,000,000 kWh (12% overall campus consumption) with paybacks ranging from 6 months to 10 years. He managed a small team to deliver over 300 energy conservation projects through the development of a custom energy calculation software (THERMS) to speed and increase the accuracy of energy calculations. He has spent his entire career in energy management and over the past 12 years has mentored over 45 young professionals. Justin has advised on more than 1000 buildings with energy and carbon mandates, working with a variety of clients, resulting in over 20,000,000 kWh of energy savings.  

 

Justin is a leader with high integrity, an engineer with a clear strategic vision who puts his clients, contractors, and employees above his own. He is a Board Member of the AEE Canada East Chapter, a Professional Engineer, Engineers NS, a member of the Association of Energy Engineers, and holds the following AEE Certifications: Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Certified Building Commissioning Professional (CBCP), and Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP). 

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إدارة طاقة الشركات
BGIS

BGIS is a global integrated facilities management provider focused on providing disruptive business solutions for clients through a culture of caring, innovation, and high performance. As environmental stewards, BGIS promotes exceptional energy management practices within their own officers, clients’ portfolios, suppliers, and team members. In previous years, BGIS achieved remarkable results related to Energy, Carbon, Water, and Waste Management, which included savings 930t CO2e from Smart Building Initiatives,19,000t CO2e from Energy and Carbon-neutral projects, and Lighting Retrofits of 8,100 MWh annually. The organization also achieved a 25,104,502 sf portfolio floor area with sustainability certification, 6 LEED® certifications, 76 BOMA BEST certifications, and 86 buildings reported in Energy Star. To promote sustainable operating practices and the efficient use of resources, BGIS has instituted its Energy Management Policy across the organization. The policy outlines how to effectively manage and report on utility consumption in clients’ portfolios and to identify potential energy conservation measures reductions. The Energy Management Policy includes key statements for energy management activities that demonstrate BGIS’ commitment to sustainability. These include governance, communication, benchmarking, energy consumption optimization, occupancy awareness programs, financial forecasting, measurement and verification, incentives, innovation, and training and implementation. The policy outlines a commitment to comply with applicable legal requirements, establish realistic energy reduction targets, and effectively communicate with clients to ensure alignment of targets and outcomes.

 

BGIS has demonstrated its unwavering commitment to sustainable and energy-efficient practices in its corporate operations, as well as in its clients’ portfolios. Through its Energy Management Policy and other sustainability initiatives, BGIS has set a high standard for the Commercial Real Estate Industry. With its innovative approaches, industry-leading certifications, and measurable results, BGIS has proven itself to be a true leader in the field of corporate energy management.

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إدارة الطاقة المؤسسية
City of Albuquerque

The City of Albuquerque’s Energy and Sustainability Management Division (ESMD) has achieved significant energy and cost savings over the last 5 years in support of the City’s overarching sustainability goal: halve carbon emissions by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2040. ESMD is responsible for managing electric, gas, and water consumption as well as renewable energy production for the entire City of Albuquerque footprint. This includes tracking nearly 700 City buildings, over 4,818 metered utility accounts, 38 solar sites, 9 battery installations, and 56 building management systems. Solar installations have been a key part of ESMD’s strategy, with 38 on-site solar installations totaling 7.2 MW of capacity. In 2022, the City of Albuquerque partnered with PNM, the local electric utility, to launch PNM Solar Direct, a utility-scale 50 MW solar project. Savings associated with ESMD’s current initiatives total about $7.52M per year.

Managing this vast quantity of utility usage and spending presented a challenge, so in August 2022, in support of the City’s comprehensive energy management plan and Net Zero goals, ESMD deployed the Balanced Resource Acquisition Information Network (BRAIN) software tool, a first-of-its-kind software tool that brings monthly utility usage and billing data, monthly solar production data, and real-time building systems data into one place. Automated analytics track and identify overconsumption, underperformance, and outliers and provide real-time notifications to ESMD staff. Using 2017 as a baseline year, the BRAIN tracks and displays cumulative savings across all utilities: Electricity – 66,572,718 kWh/$13,654,890.06; Gas – 115,595.50 MMBTU/$660,926.83; Water – 2,312,842,180 gallons/$10,494,816.81; Solar – 55,054,156 kWh production, $736,137.05 credits.

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مدير الطاقة للعام
كيلي والن

Kelley Whalen has served as Energy Manager at ADTRAN for more than 18 years. ADTRAN is a 1 million square foot campus that has a myriad of uses from office space, distribution centers, and manufacturing. Kelley developed an energy management strategy from scratch to reduce operating expenses and promote sustainability, continuously improve energy efficiency, and leverage the end of useful live cycle and technology obsolescence. Kelley started with benchmarking the campus and measuring and monitoring campus energy performance, implementing a metering program, and having multiple energy audits performed to develop a list of energy conservation projects that could be implemented on campus. Some of these projects included a water-side economizer operation for chilled water plants, a daylight harvesting analysis, demand control ventilation, retro-commissioning, and a LED lighting retrofit. In 2022, buildings were reaudited with a focus on decarbonization projects to carb the company’s carbon footprint, seeking to become net zero by 2040. In 2023, he is aiming to expand the ADTRAN energy management program to be a global one that manages energy for all of ADTRAN’s 50+ locations. In his tenure at ADTRAN, Kelley has implemented over 100 ECMs and has reduced the EUI by 44% from 134 to 75 for a 1 million sqft facility. The campus was using 40,000,000 kWh/year and is now using 22,000,000 due to Kelley’s consistent and measured implementation of ECMs, saving ADTRAN over $11,000,000 throughout his career.

 

Kelley is the Vice President for the AEE Huntsville Chapter, serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of Valley Industries, and the Board of Governors for ASHRAE North Alabama. He is the recipient of the AEE Region II Energy Manager of the Year and the ASHRAE 2019 Region VII Regional Technology Award for the Commercial Building. 

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التطوير المهني في مجال الطاقة
زياد حداد

Ziad is on a clear mission to positively impact people’s lives and career growth, businesses, and the environment. It is his way of expressing gratitude and contributing to the world. He co-founded the AEE Lebanon chapter in 2017 and helped lead its fast growth along with 5 student chapters and a CWEEL Group within the Lebanon Chapter. He co-established the AEE Lebanon Training Partner, growing it from 1 CEM course in 2017 to 11 courses and 7 certifications in 2022 with over 600 trained professionals to date, bringing the AEE certifications to Lebanon and making these required and sought after today by hundreds of professionals. Ziad led the creation of the internship in energy and sustainability program, enrolling hundreds of engineering interns from 17 universities in 11 countries. He’s a passionate speaker who converts attendees into sustainability advocates. He serves as the Senior Director of the Physical Plant at Lebanese American University (LAU), helping transform his 8,000-student workplace into a sustainability landmark.  

 

Ziad was a former Vice President and Board member at the Lebanon Green Building Council where he designed the Assessment and Certification process for the Arz Building Rating System, the first national green building rating system in Lebanon. Ziad is the AEE Regional Vice President for the Middle East Region, a contributor to AEE’s Certified Energy Manager International (CEMI) and Certified Building Commissioning Professional International (CBCPI) programs, as well as the developer of AEE’s new Lead Your Life and Energy Career non-certification course.   

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Energy Project of the Year: U.S.
The National Park Service Independence National Historic Park UESC

The National Park Service Independence National Historical Park UESC Project is a highly impressive energy project that should be considered for the Energy Project of the Year. The project resulted in significant cost savings for NPS, with energy bills being reduced by $750,000 per year, and energy consumption being reduced by 22%. Additionally, the project has had a significant environmental impact, reducing the release of over 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent gases per year. Overall, the project demonstrates excellent results in terms of both cost savings and environmental impact, making it a strong candidate for this award.

 

The National Park Service Independence National Historical Park UESC Project took place at Independence Hall, a national historic landmark. Preserving the integrity of this building and its aging infrastructure while also upgrading its energy systems was of utmost importance. 

The project consisted of a comprehensive performance contracting program of energy conservation measures, including steam to natural gas conversion, retro-commissioning, HVAC upgrades, CHW Plant Optimization, and BAS Upgrades. These improvements have enabled the National Park Service to reduce energy consumption by 22% annually, resulting in significant financial savings of $750,000 per year. Additionally, the implementation of these measures has also led to a reduction of over 1,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide equivalent gases per year (40% GHG reduction combined in all buildings surveyed), making a substantial impact on the environment. This project also has an educational and outreach aspect as it educates visitors on the importance of energy conservation, both financially and sustainability. 

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مشروع الطاقة لهذا العام: دولي
Green Presidency of Pakistan

The Aiwan-e-Sadr, or Presidential Palace, is the official residence and workplace of the President of Pakistan. It is a 364,319 sqft. building with 1700 occupants. With the aim of cutting Pakistan’s reliance on fuel, which constitutes 40% of imports, and to make an excellent precedent for the remaining public buildings, Aiwan-e-Sadr successfully reduced its energy usage by 42.5% and a savings of نحن $ 157,300,000 through effective implementation of Energy Conservation and Efficiency Measures and shifted the remaining load to in-house 1-MW solar power plant. This energy savings is equivalent to 3,154,750 kWh, a reduction of 3,144 tonnes of greenhouse gases, or a plantation of 142,090 mature trees. Currently, all of the electrical energy needs are met by the in-house solar power plant awarding the building a GBC SEED Platinum Certification.

In 2022, the Aiwan-e-Sadr received the ISO 50001 EnMS Certification, making it the world’s first green presidency. These achievements have inspired the government of Pakistan to replicate this project in other public buildings as part of the National Energy Conservation Plan.

The project was led as Director Projects by AEE member Mr. Shahid Shoukat, who has spent over 15 years in energy management, and has vision of empowering Pakistan to achieve its 60% clean energy target by 2030. Mr. Shahid is also the past AEE Energy Innovator of the Year Award recipient.

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مشروع الطاقة المبتكر لهذا العام
Youth in Energy Empowerment Program

The Youth in Energy Empowerment Program was launched by Eenovators Limited, an energy consulting company. This program offers mentorship, training, and internship opportunities to young people to gain the necessary industry skills to find employment in the energy management and renewable energy sector. Young people looking to join the energy space in Africa struggle to find internship opportunities to gain work experience, which is a prerequisite to entering the job market. It’s also a struggle for these individuals to pay for certification programs with the high cost associated. This initiative is allowing for these barriers to be achieved.

Throughout the first two programs, 40 young energy professionals from Kenya and Uganda were holistically trained for a period of 4 months and equipped with skills to assess the energy ‘footprint’ of selected facilities where they participated in a 6-month internship. The trainees conducted energy and water audits and installed smart meters that enable real-time monitoring of energy and water consumption for the facilities.

Across all of the Agri-Food Sector facilities these interns helped out at, the estimated energy savings are 9%-40.93%, a total of 846.78 tonnes of greenhouse gas emission reduction, and a total energy savings of more than $90 million. The first group graduated in 2021 and all students were able to find jobs in the energy industry. The second group graduated in 2022 and are being placed in internships with hopes to be placed in full-time jobs by the middle of 2023. It is our hope that this award will bring this program to the limelight, attracting the right partners and funding opportunities for Eenovators Limited to continue empowering and impacting the lives of as many young people in Africa as possible. 

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مبتكر الطاقة للعام
أندرو كوبر

Andrew Cooper is continually identifying and implementing innovative solutions to improve energy performance. He is an AEE Fellow in recognition of significant contributions to energy management, and a past AEE International Energy Manager of the Year Award recipient.

While at New Gold’s New Afton mine, Andrew initiated and led the first ISO 50001 certification at a mine in North America. Thereafter, the mine exceeded its annual energy objective each year. This was due to innovative energy performance improvement initiatives, as well as innovative ways to engage employees in energy management at the mine.

Innovative initiatives led by Andrew over the years have included a ventilation management project with 4.9GWh energy savings, a flotation blower control system with 1.4GWh energy savings, a filter press compressed air pressure and flow control, and a mill chiller upgrade. By the end of 2022, cumulative energy savings at the mine exceeded 41GWhe, more than 15% of the total 2022 energy consumption.

Several initiatives were implemented to engage employees. These included an award-winning employee energy suggestion campaign, a home energy monitor program for employees (in collaboration with the local electrical utility), a FLIR ONE thermal camera loan program, and annual energy review workshops with the cross-functional energy team.

Being continually innovative and creative are key elements in Andrew Cooper being an energy innovator, which have resulted in these consistent, long-term, energy performance improvements.

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محترف الشباب في مجال الطاقة للعام
Adam Trovato

Adam Trovato is the current Manager of Project Development for Sustainable Projects Group and is also a Certified Energy Manager, Certified Engineering Technologist, and possesses a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Adam has committed his entire career to energy management, energy efficiency, and sustainable project development. With his work with SPG, Adam is personally responsible for the development, and delivery of thousands of energy audits, several Community Energy Plans, several design-build deep energy retrofits, hundreds of energy conservation projects, and over one hundred electric vehicle chargers being installed throughout Alberta and BC. Outside of his work with SPG, Adam has worked to develop energy efficiency curriculums for NAIT’s Aboriginal Community Partnerships Program and NorQuest College’s Energy Management Program and acts as an advisor to Indigenous Communities through FBC’s “Ask an Energy Specialist” Program. Adam volunteers as the Vice President of AEE’s Alberta Chapter, where he spends time advancing the Chapter’s impact with the Young Professionals in the field and has been instrumental in setting up student chapters. As well, Adam is an advisor for NAIT’s Alternative Energy Technology Program, as well as NorQuest College’s new Sustainability Program. Adam was a former board member of the Alberta Energy Efficiency Alliance and has volunteered for the Canadian Institute of Energy Training.

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محترف الشباب في مجال الطاقة للعام
Kalie Miera

Kalie is a R&D Associate Energy Efficiency Engineer and Researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) where she supports a variety of initiatives including the DOE’s Better Buildings, Better Plants program. Previous to this new role, she was a Senior Energy Engineer for the 3M Engineering Group where she worked with 3M’s 89 regional manufacturing facilities towards their energy and sustainability goals. Kalie has worked one on one with sites to support these goals through facilitating ISO50001:2018 Energy Management System implementation, hosting energy treasure hunts, consulting on energy efficiency projects, and more. Specifically, Kalie was instrumental in helping secure 3M’s participation as a founding member of both the DOE’s Low Carbon Pilot and the newly-launched Better Climate Challenge. She helped spearhead the pilot of 3M’s Energy-as-a-Service program, where $11.1M in projects are being executed at four pilot facilities. The program is expected to improve both energy efficiency and carbon emissions by 4% compared to a 2019 baseline for the four sites participating. She is an active member of AEE and CWEEL and has held multiple leadership positions within the Society of Women Engineers and on 3M’s community groups. She has represented 3M at various DOE and AEE-sponsored events. Kalie’s education includes a ME in Engineering Management and a BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) as well as the Certified Energy Manager certification from the AEE. Outside of work, Kalie volunteers in K-12 Outreach within her community. During her time at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), she was a repeat Women in Engineering Retreat host and volunteer. She also served as a mentor for Project Lead the Way (PLTW) classes and as a BestPrep eMentor, where she communicated with high school freshmen about setting and achieving their goals, personal brand, and other development items.

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محترف الشباب في مجال الطاقة للعام
Anna Kelly

Anna Kelly, Principle of Measurement and Verification and Associate Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Power Takeoff, oversees, directs, and coordinates over 1,200 energy efficiency projects a year while prioritizing scholarly activity around advancing high-quality, reliable, and cost-effective strategies to arrest climate change. Throughout her career, she has facilitated commercial and industrial customers around the US and Canada saving over 10 million dollars. She serves the energy industry through research and has published 16 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, guidelines, and presentations. She serves on eight industry working groups and boards and is the sole author of “Climate Champions,” an upcoming workforce development textbook focused on inspiring a new generation to work on climate change. Prior to her role at Power TakeOff, Anna was an Associate Program Manager at the Colorado Energy Office, where she designed and administered the first Industrial Strategic Energy Management program in Colorado. She was also a Senior Analyst at The Cadmus Group, where she managed an $8 million, 5-year portfolio evaluation for an electric utility, among other responsibilities. Anna’s education includes a Master of Public Policy in Energy Policy from Oregon State University and a B.A. in Sociology from Colorado State University. She has also earned a Professional Measurement and Verification Analyst certification from the Efficiency Valuation Organization and a Certified Measurement and Verification Professional certification from the Association of Energy Engineers.

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حول جمعية مهندسي الطاقة (AEE)
ال نقابة مهندسي الطاقة هو مجتمع مهني غير ربحي 501 (c) (6) يضم أكثر من 18000 عضو في أكثر من 100 دولة. تقدم AEE مجموعة متنوعة من برامج التوعية الإعلامية بما في ذلك التدريب والمؤتمرات والفصول والمجلات وبرامج الشهادات. تتمثل مهمة AEE في تعزيز المصالح العلمية والتعليمية لأولئك العاملين في صناعة الطاقة وتعزيز العمل من أجل التنمية المستدامة.