The Cleanie Awards®, the leading awards program focused on recognizing innovators and those making an impact on the clean energy industry, announced its 2021 winners today at its virtual The Cleanie Awards® 2021 Award Ceremony. The awards program recognizes people and brands delivering on the promise of a clean energy future. Among the diverse group of winners included organizations such as DNV, Amazon, FlexGen, Heila Technologies, Clean Energy Leadership Institute, and Solar Energy Industries Association.
BNEF reported an estimate of nearly $174 billion was invested in renewable energy projects and companies in the first half of 2021. The clean energy industry continues to grow, and this year’s total investments reached a record high. This year’s program added two people’s choice categories and introduced new categories, the Best Corporate Sustainability Strategy and Best Journalist, to address the growing needs of this sector. This was the most competitive in the awards history with a triple-digit increase in the number of submissions from 2020.
“We launched the awards in 2017 as a recognition program, welcoming 10 names into our winner’s circle for the inaugural year. Now, four years later, we have grown 600 percent with our winner’s circle nearing 100 people and brands driving the clean energy economy,” said Randee Gilmore, Executive Director, The Cleanie Awards. “We have established ourselves as the #1 comprehensive clean energy awards program, and we feel like we’re just getting started. To say I’m excited about this year’s class of winners is an understatement.”
The full list of 2021 The Cleanie Award winners is as follows:
Enterprise Company of the Year
- Gold: DNV
- Silver: Blattner Company
- Bronze: Generac Power Systems
- Hon. Mention: McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
Midsize Company of the Year
- Gold: FlexGen
- Silver: Pine Gate Renewables
- Bronze: Edison Energy
- Hon. Mention: World Energy
Startup Company of the Year
- Gold: Heila Technologies
Non-Profit Company of the Year
Best Corporate Sustainability Program
- Gold: Amazon
- Silver: Black & Veatch
- Bronze: Resolute Forest Products
- Hon. Mention: Pine Gate Renewables
Journalist of the Year
- Gold: Brian Eckhouse, Bloomberg
- Silver: Jeff St. John, Canary Media
Community Contributor of the Year
- Gold: Stuart McCafferty, Eamonn McCormick, and David Fofia, Contributors at Energy Central
Podcaster of the Year
- Gold: Stephen Lacey, Post Script Media
DE&I Champion (Corporate)
- Gold: Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)
- Silver: Renewables Forward
- Bronze: Atlas Renewable Energy
- Hon. Mention: Leyline Renewable Capital
DE&I Champion (Individual)
- Gold: Catherine McLean, Dylan Green
College Excellence, Sponsored by REpowering Schools
- Gold: Avery Taylor, Student at Penn State University
- Silver: Callie Chaplain and Meghan Jennings, James Madison University
Corporate Investment Leader of the Year:
- Gold: FullCycle
Individual Investment Leader of the Year:
- Gold: Meghan Schultz, Invenergy
Keep the Power On:
- Gold: Connexus Energy
Pioneer in New Technology
- Gold: FlexGen
- Silver: Plug Power
- Bronze: Schneider Electric
- Hon. Mention: SOLV Energy
Rising Star – Under 40
- Gold: Kevin Magayah, CS Energy
Rising Star – Under 30
- Gold: Miles Braxton, Goldman Sachs Renewable Power Group/Black Oak Collective
Trailblazer
- Gold: Annika Colston, AC Power
Woman of the Year
- Gold: Abigail Ross Hopper, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)
Project of the Year – PEOPLE’S CHOICE
- Gold: Ameresco
Project of the Year – JUDGES’ CHOICE
- Gold: Fluence
BEST MEDIA OUTLET – PEOPLE’S CHOICE
- Gold: Canary Media
Visit www.thecleanieawards.com to learn more about the program and sign up for notifications about next year’s application process.