On Oct. 24, Stephen Lelimo and Ivan Yaholnitsky accepted an Emirates Energy Award in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on behalf of Bethel Business and Community Development Centre (BBCDC). BBCDC was recognized in the category of Education and Capacity Building and received a cash prize of 21,780 USD and Certificate.
The Emirates Energy Award was part of a Green Economy Summit which ran in late October, and and which received broad exposure on social and global media. The sponsors of the award covered BBCDC’s travel and accommodation, and the program included a world class expert’s panel on RE transition and clean energy.
The UAE is setting impressive and urgent targets for decarbonisation of its energy supplies. BBCDC is greatly honoured to receive this award and grateful to the organizers and people of the United Arab Emirates. BBCDC will use the cash prize to purchase an electric utility vehicle and bolster the solar energy program with a working model of a clean transportation system.
The vehicle will facilitate inexpensive driving lessons and reduce energy costs for local transportation. The prize will also enable additional investment in education and programs at BBCDC.
BBCDC’s submission for the EEA included the contribution from OFID, AEE-Intec and the Austrian Development Agency, and summarized BBCDC’s work on solar energy for the last two decades.