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The winners of the 2009 Rosenblatt New Energy Awards were:

IPO of the Year | Sponsored by: RBC Capital Markets
Winner: EDP Renovaveis

Award criteria:
This rewards the business that the judges deem to have planned and executed the best IPO. Factors such as funds raised, pricing, use of funds and share price performance are all considered.

Why EDP Renovaveis won this award:
One of the largest European IPOs of the year, EDP Renovaveis raised €1.6 billion on Euronext and its share price has held up well compared with most of its rivals. Since its flotation the company has expanded into Romania and entered into a new partnership with institutional investors in the USA, making it the fourth-largest wind energy company in the world.

Adviser of the Year | Sponsored by: Millnet
Winner: Nomura Code

Award criteria:
The judges not only assess the brokers and advisers that have floated the most new energy ventures on the market – and those that have raised the most funds – but also the subsequent share price performance of these businesses and their overall operational progress post-float.

Why Nomura Code won this award:
Nomura Code is the most active nomad on AIM in the cleantech sector, raising more than £100 million for new energy IPOs in a turbulent year for the public markets. The judging panel lauded the company for its commitment to reducing energy usage and waste, recycling wherever it can and promoting green purchasing in the 30 countries in which it operates.

New Energy Rising Star | Sponsored by: Matrix Corporate Capital
Winner: Marine Current Turbines

Award criteria:
The winner of this award is the small renewable energy business (public or private) that has created a buzz in the market, through either its innovative technology or its potential. Public awareness of the technology and prospects, and the disruptive nature of the company, are considered, as is any success the business has had in shaping/influencing government policy.

Why Marine Current Turbines won this award:
Marine Current Turbines stood out among the shortlist for this category for its innovative use of tidal power via submerged offshore turbines. This pioneering company installed the world’s first offshore tidal turbine off the coast of Devon in 2003 and has created a real buzz in its sector as well as influencing government policy and local public opinion.

Company of the Year | Sponsored by: Rosenblatt Solicitors
Winner: Novera

Award criteria:
This award recognises the company that has made the most meaningful progress during the year in terms of its business plan or financial progression, used the stock market most effectively (raising money at the right time and using the funds most astutely) or made the biggest impact in the renewable sector.

Why Novera won this award:
The judges commended Novera for its clever use of the stock market and the speed of its expansion, delivering profits for its shareholders and clean, green power for its customers. The company floated on AIM in 2005 and already commands an 11 per cent market share, producing 118 MW of renewable power at 57 sites across the UK.

Project of the Year | Sponsored by: Passion for the Planet
Winner: The Co-operative Group

Award criteria:
The judges seek to highlight a particular corporate social responsibility (CSR) project – wind farm or wave power, local technological innovation, solar power – that has proven a terrific success, either by reducing our carbon footprint or saving energy in some other major way.

Why The Co-operative Group won this award:
The Co-operative Group has demonstrated its dedication to green issues through initiatives such as the Green Energy for Schools campaign, encouraging children to walk to school rather than use vehicles, and powering more than 4,000 of its outlets by renewable energy, as well as launching an £18 million programme to reduce its electricity and gas consumption. The judges also praised Continental Wind for its trailblazing development of a 600 MW onshore wind farm in Romania.

Investor of the Year | Sponsored by: Cleantech magazine
Winner: Foresight Group

Award criteria:
This award seeks to recognise the private equity firm, venture capitalist, business angel, serial investor or investing institution that has done the most to help renewable energy businesses prosper and progress during the previous year.

Why Foresight Group won this award:
Foresight Group is a recent but very serious entrant into the cleantech market, bringing its expertise in early-stage investment to these high-risk but often highly profitable ventures and facilitating the development of exciting new technologies. The judges also commended Hg Capital for its continuing commitment to new energy through its Renewable Power Partners Fund.

Entrepreneur of the Year | Sponsored by: Redleaf PR
Winner: Jeremy Leggett, Solar Century

Award criteria:
This award salutes a successful innovator in the renewable space, one that has advanced the cause of their business more effectively than their rivals. The judges consider a range of criteria, including pioneering products, sales and profits growth, and market penetration.

Why Jeremy Leggett of Solar Century won this award:
With an unequalled track record in the industry, Jeremy Leggett did much to advance the cause of renewable energy before it became fashionable. The scale of his achievements as a product developer, entrepreneurial innovator and evangelist for the sector is remarkable and he has tirelessly given his time to educate the next generation about the challenges of climate change.

Developer of the Year | Sponsored by: Business XL magazine   
Winner: Gentoo Group

Award criteria:
Rewarding the property developer that has made the greatest efforts to place environmentally friendly and renewable energy features at the heart of its developments.

Why Gentoo Group won this award:
By marrying the goals of social regeneration and the environmental agenda, Gentoo Group has brought 20,000 homes into the 21st century, saving tenants £4 million per year in fuel costs and reducing their carbon emissions through its eco homes project. It operates at the grass roots of the communities it serves, championing energy efficiency to 6,000 staff and more than 80,000 households through its national partnership with Home.

Retailer of the Year | Sponsored by: KBC Peel Hunt
Winner: The John Lewis Partnership

Award criteria:
The award recognises the retail chain that have gone the furthest to foster the use of green and new energy techniques, either in its stores or from its suppliers.

Why The John Lewis Partnership won this award:
Against stiff competition, The John Lewis Partnership won the day for its long-standing commitment to ethical environmental policies, which is reflected in its own operations and its ongoing efforts to influence others. One hundred per cent of the Partnership’s energy is from renewable sources and it is on course to reduce its carbon.

University Spin-out of the Year | Sponsored by: International Business Wales
Winner: CamSemi

Award criteria:
The award salutes university spin-outs that have produced particularly exciting or groundbreaking new energy research that has been catapulted into the world of business.

Why CamSemi won this award:
Cambridge University spin-out CamSemi is set to reshape the semiconductor market with its portfolio of disruptive energy-efficient technologies. The judges heralded the company’s successful fundraising efforts and its adherence to the green agenda as well as its innovative products, which have the potential to reduce standby power consumption by as much as 90 per cent.

The winners of the 2008 New Energy Awards were:

IPO of the Year:
PSV – Chrystalox

Adviser of the Year:
Numis

New Energy Rising Star:
TMO Renewables

Company of the Year:
ReneSola

Project of the Year:
Mayor of Paris

Investor of the Year:
BlackRock Merrill Lynch

Entrepreneur of the Year:
Moixa – Simon Daniels

Developer of the Year:
Peabody Trust

Retailer of the Year:
M&S

University Spin-out of the Year:
Chromogenix