About the competition

Background

The National Energy Essay Competition (NEEC) arose from the increasing interest by the community in the inter-related issues of energy generation and usage, sustainability, carbon dioxide emissions and associated costs, all at a time of increasing awareness of the finite nature of global fossil fuel resources and forecast needs for very deep cuts in emissions.

The Warren Centre (TWC), which maintains close contact with industry, academe and the community wanted to encourage informed debate. TWC felt that young Australian minds should be encouraged to address what will be their energy future, given the time perspective of technological change in the creation and usage of patterns of energy since the industrial revolution.

TWC sensed a need to introduce a rigorous and disciplined level of information into the public arena, in layman’s terms. The objective was to catalyse debate on the next phase of primary energy generation needed to meet the needs of Australia’s established and developing energy networks. These needs will be influenced by:

• politics,
• societal and technological changes,
• population location,
• living patterns,
• transport tasks and technologies,
• existing and emerging industrial processes and
• other yet to emerge impacts.

The concept of a national essay competition, restricted to the younger age group who will be the future leaders, innovators and providers to the energy sector, was thought to be a way of stimulating young minds, while at the same time attracting the interest of the established market, the media and the public at large.

To this end a two-part essay topic has been created. The first and major part draws, on the contestant’s knowledge and conceptual abilities with reference to tried and proven technologies and the Australian energy scene from today through to 2050. The second part aims to explore the contestant’s knowledge and understanding of promising research trends in energy creation and usage. They are encouraged to mix this with innovative thinking and ideas telling the reader how they see energy creation and usage scenarios evolving over the period 2050 to 2100.

The emphasis of the competition is on quality of the ideas and contestants’ ability to express them concisely and lucidly in everyday terms, referencing all material statements.

Contestants will be permitted to lodge essays as sole author or in a team with a maximum of three, thus encouraging inter-disciplinary input and group working

Competition objectives

The concept behind NEEC is to involve the next generation of potential leaders and contributors to Australia’s development. The competition will provide an opportunity for them to express thoughts and ideas which will stimulate free, constructive and accurate debate, with the media’s help, generating ideas and potential courses of action.

In particular it is hoped contestants will:

• take the opportunity for up and coming professionals to demonstrate their knowledge and abilities of expression
• involve their contemporaries and the public in informed debate
• address Australia’s energy future in the context of its major population regions and associated existing and future industrial activity
• consider objectively, with supporting references, the established primary sources of energy commercially available, saying how they see these best apportioned and integrated within existing electrical distribution systems
• express their views on how they envisage developing technologies impacting energy usage, lifestyle and future electrical distribution systems, — in the timeframe of their own lifetimes — as well as to
• think futuristically, with credible views, about where promising areas of research may change the Australia in which their children will live.

We also want to encourage team working, sharing of interdisciplinary skills and to give future leaders, innovators and lateral thinkers the opportunity to make their mark.

Prizes and Awards

Currently two major prizes of $20,000 each shall be awarded to the best essays selected by the judging panel

• The Babcock & Brown Power/Wind Partners Prize
• The Sumitomo Australia Prize

One prize of $5,000 may be awarded for the best essay selected by the Judging Panel which is written by an essayist (or essayists) under 22 years of age at the closing date of the competition.

Up to five prizes of $1,000 each may be awarded to essays selected by the judging panel as worthy of an ‘Honourable Mention’

Further prizes may be awarded, including a ‘People’s Choice’ prize of up to $10,000, may be awarded if additional sponsorship is obtained.

Judging

The Judging Panel shall consist of 7 members, including the Chairman. Current membership of the Judging Panel comprises

 All essays shall be reviewed and judged anonymously, the entrants being identified only by their Unique Registration Number.

The Chairman and each Judge will have an equal vote

A simple majority will decide competition awards

Awarding

The names of the winning entrants of the NEEC will be published on this web site and they will be notified of this fact by email (where available), or by telephone or Australia post.

The winning entrants may be presented with their prizes at a dinner function held in association with the energy industry.

The major prize winners may be invited to participate in a televised debate from which a ‘people’s choice’ winner may be selected by the interested public. The format of such a debate (including rules and timings) would be determined in conjunction with Channel 7 and it would be moderated by an experienced compare.