Last week, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) recognized five individuals and companies as part of its “Safety and Health Excellence Recognition” and “Excellence in Operations” programs. Each year, these programs recognize industry stakeholders that go above and beyond to prioritize operational efficiency and workforce safety.
Chris Meehan, vice president of wind operations at Invenergy Services, earned the Excellence in Operations Award. The award distinguishes an individual or company for excellence in efficiency and effective operations of its wind projects and for constructive collaboration with others in the industry to improve the quality of O&M services.
“Chris Meehan was nominated and selected by his industry peers for always prioritizing safety and exemplifying operations best practices,” says Tom Vinson, vice president of policy and regulatory affairs at AWEA. “He helped create a culture of engagement among managers and technicians at Invenergy projects to ensure safety always comes first and employees are empowered to address workplace safety concerns. He is a true champion of operations and safety excellence.”
AWEA also recognized four companies for their dedication to advancing safety and health in the wind industry through the Safety and Health Excellence Recognition Program. This program has two levels of recognition for commitment to environmental, health and safety (EHS) best practices and for laudable safety achievements.
AWEA’s Safety and Health Gold Achievement was presented to Apex Clean Energy, Third Planet Windpower and Wanzek Construction for demonstrating safety as a core value and for their active participation in AWEA’s efforts to advance EHS in the industry.
In addition, Acciona Energy was awarded AWEA’s Safety and Health Silver Recognition for successfully integrating health and safety as key values in the company and making measurable achievements in safety performance.
“AWEA congratulates and thanks these companies for their dedication to workforce safety in the wind industry,” says Michele Mihelic, senior director of standards and asset management at AWEA. “Our industry takes pride in going above and beyond to ensure our workers have a safe and healthy environment to perform their jobs and supply clean energy to American homes and businesses.”
All three awards were presented at AWEA’s annual Wind Project Operations & Maintenance and Safety Conference in San Diego.
