To encourage the public to support Hong Kong' s goal of achieving carbon neutrality, HK Electric has been organising numerous activities and competitions under its Happy Green Campaign along the theme of "Decarbonisation our New Mission" since 2021. A group of green champions were selected and recognised at a prize presentation ceremony held last Saturday (9 July).
The first group of winners were students from the tertiary institutions who joined the "Green Energy Dreams Come True" Competition in 2021/22. With the seed money from HK Electric, they turned their creative ideas into visible outcomes and showcased their journey of realising their green energy dreams.
The winning project from the Civil Engineering Department of The University of Hong Kong involved the design of a bus stop with solar panels and green walls, which helped reduce the impacts of air pollution and heat island effect on the environment of roadside bus stops.
Powered by solar energy, the innovative bus stop included a self-sustained water pump for the plants on the green wall. It also featured fans, an LED lighting system and mobile charging facilities serving passengers waiting for buses. The team also developed an app to monitor and report real-time data on air pollutants, temperature and humidity.
The 1st runner-up went to a team with members from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and City University of Hong Kong. They studied how the perovskite photovoltaic electrolysis system could be adopted to produce green and high purity hydrogen to promote the hydrogen economy in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Haking Wong) team came third with their project researching the development of smart meters in Hong Kong and organising activities to promote smart meters to the public.
Now in its 6th year, the "Green Energy Dreams Come True" Competition has been extended to tertiary institutions for the first time this year, calling on young people to initiate innovation projects promoting energy efficiency, renewable and sustainable energy on campuses and among the community.
A total of seven projects received seed money of up to $50,000 each to implement their projects. Other than an additional prize money of $15,000, the winning team also won an invaluable internship opportunity at HK Electric.
Speaking at the award presentation ceremony, Mr. Bill Ho, General Manager of HK Electric was pleased to see the enthusiasm of tertiary students in protecting the environment. "The projects covered wide-ranging topics like renewable energy, green buildings, sustainability, smart city and decarbonisation technologies. While some were technical and highly applicable, others were more educational, all aimed at contributing to carbon neutrality in Hong Kong," said Mr. Ho.
"Apart from learning more about green energy, these students also had a chance to brush up their project management skills from planning, management, research through to the promotional side, bringing them fruitful experience in life planning," added Mr. Ho. "This year, we are happy to engage a guest judge from Cyberport who gave valuable advice on how to commercialise some of the projects through potential partnerships with start-ups."
Awards were also presented to 10 "Outstanding Happy Green Ambassadors" who formed a girl band for promoting decarbonisation. After receiving intensive training last year, they completed their mission of promoting decarbonisation in schools and the community both online and offline.
Awards also went to the three winners of the "Decarbonisation Get Set, Go!" online game held earlier to celebrate the launch of decorated pillar boxes in HK Electric' s supply network. The three KOLs from different generations creatively shared their decarbonisation tips through videos and photos. For more information about the game and the winners, please visit the campaign mini-site.
A total of 15 schools were also presented with the "Outstanding Happy Green Schools Awards" for their efforts in green education through academic and extra-curricular activities.
The Happy Green Campaign has been an anchor event under HK Electric's Education Fund. Through organising different activities throughout the year, the programme aimed at promoting energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy and a low carbon lifestyle to the general public and the younger generation.
In the past year, despite the pandemic, the campaign has reached over 80,000 people online and offline. The Happy Green School Network has also been expanded to 507 schools throughout the territory, with Happy Green Ambassadors nominated by schools to receive training in promoting green.
The "Green Energy Dreams Come True" Competition and the "Happy Green Schools and Ambassadors" programmes for the next academic year will be open for enrollment later this month. For more information, please visit HK Electric' s website www.hkelectric.com/happygreencampaign, and the campaign Facebook www.facebook.com/hkelectrichappygreencampaign. Interested parties may also call 3143 3727 or email happygreen@hkelectric.com to find out more.
Results of “Green Energy Dreams Come True Competition 2021/22”
Awards | Institute | Project Title |
|---|
Champion | The University of Hong Kong | Innovative Green Wall Development in Urban Area Design a solar-powered bus stop featuring a green wall structure that helps improve the environment of roadside bus stops in Hong Kong  |
First Runner-up | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology & City University of Hong Kong | Hydrogen - A Big Step Towards Utopia Study how the perovskite photovoltaic electrolysis system could be adopted to produce green and high purity hydrogen to promote hydrogen economy in Hong Kong  |
Second Runner-up | Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Haking Wong) | Smart Meter Application in Grid Research on the development of smart meters in Hong Kong and enhance public knowledge through promotional activities  |
Merit | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University | Green Energy in Future Cities - The Utilization of Piezoelectric Power in Railways and Bridges Study the feasibility of harvesting piezoelectric power from vibration in the transportation system  |
| The University of Hong Kong | Cutting-edge Carbon Reduction Technology of Buildings in Hong Kong Combine different green technologies such as green walls and power generating tiles to reduce carbon footprint in buildings  |
| The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | Decarbonisation by 2050 with Green Energy Develop an educational board game to promote the awareness and understanding of using renewable energy in combating climate change  |
| City University of Hong Kong | Production of ammonia by electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction for hydrogen power Fabricate a new catalyst to improve the efficiency of the less carbon-intensive ammonia production process – the electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction |