UWC Wins Zayed Future Energy Prize Global High Schools (Africa) Category

Waterford Kamhlaba (UWC Southern Africa) Awarded US$100,000 for student-led renewable energy project

Dubai - UAE: 22 January 2015 – Today, The Zayed Future Energy Prize awarded UWC Waterford Kamhlaba (United World College of Southern Africa) the US$100,000 grant in the Global High Schools (Africa) category. The school in Mbabane received funding for its student-led project to install wind turbines, biogas digesters and solar photovoltaics.

Now in its third year, The Global High Schools category provides valuable funding to schools around the world aiming to accelerate the adoption of clean energy through education.

UWC Waterford Kamhlaba's project is designed to help the school become carbon neutral by 2025. The project will include the installation of solar photovoltaic panels, three wind turbines, a biogas digester to supply cooking gas for the school cafeteria, and a water turbine that uses rainwater to generate electricity.

His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces presented the award to UWC Waterford Kamhlaba student representatives, Michael Lowry and Niyonkuru Bicamumpaka at the award ceremony held during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2015.

Speaking after the ceremony, UWC Waterford Kamhlaba Head of Experimental Sciences, Ben Green, said: “We are thrilled to be accepting this prize on behalf of Waterford Kamhlaba and really excited to be able to make our bid become a reality. We recognise our responsibility to make the best use of energy resources and will work very hard to make sure that Waterford Kamhlaba uses the prize to both generate and save energy.

“We will use the Zayed Future Energy Prize to inspire a whole generation of students from around the world to believe that they too can make a difference by using sustainable technologies. We thank you for your support and are looking forward to making our school a leader in Swaziland for the smarter use of our precious resources.” He continued.

According to estimates, while only 27 percent of Swaziland is electrified, the disparity between urban and rural areas is significantly steep - up to 40 percent of the urban population have access to electricity, falling to three percent in rural areas. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy has set a target of 100 percent electrification by 2022. Hydropower already provides 60.4 megawatts of installed capacity and the Ministry has developed an action plan to tap into renewable sources to address national energy access.

The US$4 million Zayed Future Energy Prize, established by the UAE government in 2008, recognises individuals, organisations, and schools across the world that have made significant contributions to the future of renewable energy and sustainability. The Prize is awarded in five categories: Large Corporation, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), Non-Profit Organisation (NPO/NGO), Lifetime Achievement, and Global High Schools.

The Global High Schools category was launched to recognise and encourage young people to incorporate renewable energy and sustainability into the daily operations of their schools. Five schools from five regions around the world are awarded US$100,000 each, totalling US$500,000, for their proposed sustainability projects.