Solid Energy announces essay competition winner

Solid Energy announces essay competition winner

Year 12 Lincoln High student, Mitchell Rogers will be on his way to the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China, later this year after winning first prize in a Solid Energy essay competition.

Solid Energy ran the competition as part of its support for the New Zealand Pavilion at World Expo 2010. The competition was open to all year 11, 12 and 13 students on the West Coast of the South Island, Waikato, Southland and Canterbury. Participants had to submit between 1500 and 2000 words on the subject of “The Role of Coal in Sustainable Energy Solutions for New Zealand”, along with 500 words on why they would benefit from attending World Expo 2010, Shanghai, China.

The competition entries were independently judged on knowledge of the subject and understanding of the issues; evidence of independent original thought; the logical and convincing development of the argument and the conclusion; presentation and grammar; and evidence of personal benefit gained from attending the World Expo in Shanghai. The judges said the standard of all the essays was extremely high and it was encouraging to see the thought and effort that the students had put into their entries. Mitchell presented a well researched, well thought-through and original paper.

Solid Energy ran the competition to acknowledge the contribution of its local communities to its business and to coincide with its support for the New Zealand Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo which runs from 1 May to 30 October 2010. The company ran a similar competition on the West Coast when it was Foundation Partner of the New Zealand pavilion at the World Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan.

Solid Energy has been exporting coal to China for nearly 20 years. Solid Energy has strong business relationships with major players in the Chinese steel industry, including Baosteel, the country’s largest producer. Baosteel is a “global partner” to the expo and has been nominated as the preferred supplier of steel to the New Zealand pavilion.

Despite the global downturn in 2009, demand for New Zealand’s high-quality coal by Chinese and other steelmakers in the region remains strong. Solid Energy will utilise the New Zealand pavilion at Shanghai to host its Chinese and Japanese customers, strengthening the long-term relationships which are the basis of successful business in Asia and to develop new export opportunities.

ENDS

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