Preben Maegaard

DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVE ROLE TOWARDS LOCAL SUSTAINABLE ENERGY IN EUROPE

Preben Maegaard has become, through his life, one of the people who substantially contributed to a renewable energy-powered society. Worldwide considered as one of the most important pioneers in renewable energy, Mr. Maegaard dedicated most of his life in promoting renewable energy as the ultimate solution for our society. From the beginning, he put effort and passion in studying, researching and developing solutions which could provide us with sustainable energy production technologies. The great value of his contribution can be found in the large amount of scientific material produced, in the prototypes developed and, most of all, in the huge amount of people he formed through his life. With the foundation of Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy, the impact of his work reached the highest international levels, making the center a well-known reality all over the world. The trainee program offered by Folkecenter allowed the formation of several hundred of students, professionals and normal people on the topics of renewable energy and sustainability; former trainees currently occupy important position in the fields of renewable energy, which translates in a huge influential capacity.

Mr. Maegaard’s work inspired thousands of people from all over the world and from all backgrounds of education and social statuses and led to the foundation of other Folkecenters around the world (currently in Mali, Uganda, Chile and Canada). Furthermore, his vision brought up attention also on the social aspects of renewable energies, showing again his capacity to operate in the renewable fields at 360°.

CREATIVITY

Creativity is a limiting word when talking about Preben Maegaard: the correct term should be vision, because he could see that wind energy and renewables had a potential when no-one still believed it. His technical, economic and social soutions show clearly that he could see in the future, so advanced were the concepts by him developed.

IMPACT

Look around you: if nowadays society is discussing about a renewable energy transition, if wind and solar are flourishing industries it is only thanks to Mr. Maegaard and the other pioneers, who put their soul in developing and spreading these technologies. It is only thanks to them, visionary of the future, that solutions which did not seem to be possible are now existing.

STRATEGIC VISION

His work in community development is outstanding: for years he has been studying and working on ownership models which could allow people to accept renewable energies and which could take away money from the large investors and devoted it instead for the development of the local area. It is thanks to him that rural areas can now look at renewable energy as a base for their development.

LEADERSHIP

By being the director of Nordic Folkecenter for many years and by being an outstanding speaker at international conferences, Mr. Maegaard did not wait for the change to happen, but he was the change. Moreover, his vision was spread among all the people who have, in some way, been part of Folkecenter’s reality. A boss orders, a leader motivates: this is probably the best definition which describes Preben Maegaard. He has never kept his immense knowledge for himself and he always shared his views with whoever was interested in listening. Through his work, he has motivated thousands of people all over the world and it is thanks to this people, and to him in particular, if today we are talking about green energy.