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Delivering Innovation
Eversource Energy Wins 96th Edison Award; EDP Wins International Edison Award
Eversource Energy Wins 96th Edison Award; EDP Wins International Edison Award
June 2024
During EEI 2024, EEI President and CEO Dan Brouillette proudly presented the 96th Edison Award to Eversource Energy and the International Edison Award to EDP.Presented annually and selected by a panel of former energy industry executives, the Edison Award is the electric power industry’s highest honor, recognizing distinguished leadership, innovation, and contributions to the advancement of the electric power industry. (Read about the finalists in Electric Perspectives.)
Eversource launched the SmartInspect platform in 2022 to streamline inspections of its thousands of miles of transmission and distribution lines. Using advanced image recognition and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, the cloud-enabled platform improves efficiency and accuracy, centralizes data collection and analysis efforts, and automatically identifies potential system defects.
Using SmartInspect, Eversource conducted a thorough circuit patrol across its territory in three states, which saved hundreds of hours compared to traditional methods and improved accuracy and efficiency. Broken or missing animal protection, vegetation encroachment, and broken or cracked crossarms are examples of several high-priority issues identified and repaired with the support of the platform, improving reliability for all Eversource customers.
Read more in EEI’s Edison Award press release.
EDP’s Alqueva Park—an innovative hybrid hydropower, floating solar, and battery storage project located in southern Portugal in Europe’s largest artificial lake—is Europe’s largest floating solar energy production facility in a dam reservoir. The project consists of 12,000 solar panels supported by 25,000 floats, which can generate 7.5 gigawatt-hours of clean energy each year. That’s roughly 30 percent of the annual energy usage of the region or the equivalent of around 1,500 households.
In partnership with local stakeholders, most of the reservoir area was left free for neighboring communities to use for recreational purposes and fishing tied to the local economy, benefiting both the community and the environment.
Read more in EEI’s International Edison Award press release.