/From our media analyst/
THE HAGUE – On Wednesday November 12, the Canadian construction company Northland Power of Toronto was awarded the annual Businessman of the Year Award 2014, by the Netherlands-Canadian Chamber of Commerce (NCCC).
The Canadian ambassador in the Netherlands, H.E. Mr. James Lambert, presented the award to Northland’s CEO John Brace in Sociëteit de Witte in The Hague. Alternately, the prize is awarded to Dutch or Canadian companies or institutes that make an important contribution to the national economies.
The Dutch research institute INCAS³ won the prestigious award last year. Northland is heavily involved, 60% of shares, in the so-called Gemini project: one of the largest wind farms in the North Sea to be completed in 2017.
Construction of the 150 wind turbines with a capacity of 600 MW annually, will start in 2015. After completion Gemini will be capable of providing power to approximately 1.5 million households, making it one of the largest wind farms in Europe. The production costs of Eu. 2.8 billion will be shared between 22 partners.
The Dutch government also participates in the project through the so-called SDE-scheme, the incentive scheme for sustainable production. All EU-countries have committed to a 20% target share of renewable energy by 2020. Recently, the European Council had criticized the Netherlands for failing to meet its midterm goals.
A clip of the article on this event in Algemeen Dagblad by Leo van der Velde.
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CEO John Brace (left) and Ambassador James Lambert.
photo Peter Creemers / NCCC
The chairman of NCCC, Mr. J. Hasperhoven, stressed that The Netherlands is the second largest foreign investor in Canada, while The Netherlands is the sixth most important export market for Canada. The Canadians use the efficient distribution network in The Netherlands to dispatch their products all over Europe. The CEO of Nederland Distributieland, Holland’s International Distribution Council, Mr. Remco Buurman, keynote speaker on the occasion, urged the Canadian firms present in Sociëteit de Witte to make more use of available distribution channels.
GMAS was represented by its Senior Advisor, former Dutch ambassador, Mr Eric Niehe, seated at the Head Table, together with Canadian ambassador Lambert, NCCC chairman Mr. Hasperhoven, Mr. Remco Buurman of Nederland Distributieland and award winner CEO Mr. John Brace of Northland Power.