Acwa Power Announces Winners of “The Power Is Within You”
ACWA POWER ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF “THE POWER IS WITHIN YOU” INITIATIVE AIMED TO EMPOWER YOUTH-DRIVEN INNOVATION IN THE KINGDOM’S POWER AND WATER SECTOR
- Judging panel comprising senior leaders from ACWA Power and The Higher Institute for Water and Power Technologies (HIWPT) selected the top three ideas to receive further incubation and development support
Riyadh, KSA: ACWA Power, the leading Saudi developer, investor and operator of power generation and water desalination plants, has announced the three winners for its youth driven initiative – ‘The Power is Within You’.
A judging panel comprising senior leaders from ACWA Power and its flagship institute, The Higher Institute for Water and Power Technologies (HIWPT) selected three of the most innovative ideas to receive 90 days of incubation and development support, following an extensive screening and selection process of online entries, and virtual presentations from shortlisted applicants.
Based on the merits of their ideas; gauging creativity, feasibility and sustainability; Mohammed Alnakhli and his team from the Ministry of Energy; Abdulaziz Abdullah AlGhamdi, Luay Kattan, Riyadh Alharthi, and Abdulaziz Algethami from Taif University; and Ahmed Allehyani from the University of Jeddah, were announced as the winners of the initiative, in product, service and technology categories respectively.
The Power is Within You was launched on the 90th Saudi National Day to empower youth in the Kingdom to create, ideate and innovate three specific categories within the power and water sector, inspired by ACWA Power’s commitment to playing a role in the fulfillment of Vision 2030 and its successful track record of utilizing cutting-edge technology to transform operations.
Out of over 130 entries received, 9 candidates were shortlisted to present their ideas to the judging panel, of which the three winners emerged successful.
The competition was supported by the HIWPT, an ACWA Power founded vocational training institute that develops and nurtures young Saudi talent, equipping them to work in the power generation and water desalination sectors.
The winning ideas fell under three categories: product, service and technology.
Mohammed Alnakhli and his team will move forward with their winning idea under the product category for a demand-side management control for household appliances to address solar PV intermittency, regulate consumption and increase efficiency.
Under the service category, the Taif University team’s innovative idea for using UAV drones for the inspection, monitoring and maintenance of solar PV panels is a creative solution that will help reduce costs, manpower and time taken to address any issues.
Finally, Ahmed Allehyani was the winner for the technology category, presenting his idea for a new converter to step up the voltage of PV panels to support renewable energy applications ranging from grid integration and solar powered water desalination systems.
The three winners will now take part in a 90-day incubation programme to further explore and develop their ideas through a dedicated training and mentoring process, guided by ACWA Power experts and supported by the Higher Institute for Water and Power Technologies (HIWPT) with potential internship roles available after the incubation period.