Indian organization Husk Power Systems (HPS), which generates electricity for remote villages in the Indian state of Bihar from the gasification of rice husk, and which featured prominently in the latest issue of Alliance, has been named one of the five international winners of this year’s Ashden Trust Awards for Sustainable Energy. Sarah Butler-Sloss of the Ashden Trust, who chairs the judging panel, speaking at the awards ceremony last Thursday (16 June), hailed Husk Power’s combination of ‘personal passion and commitment with technological know-how and entrepreneurial drive’.

The 2011 Gold Award went to Toyola Energy Ltd from Ghana, which makes efficient charcoal stoves accessible to low-income families. The other international winners were Abellon CleanEnergy Ltd, from Gujarat, India, which produces biomass pellets from crop waste; the Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan, which installs a range of energy-efficient products in remote mountain villages; and ToughStuff International, Africa and UK, which manufactures and markets a range of low-cost and robust solar products to off-grid communities, mainly in Kenya and Madagascar.

For more information
http://www.ashdenawards.org/winners