Solid Energy Essay Competition

22 March 2010
Solid Energy Essay Competition – World Expo 2010 Shanghai

Solid Energy has today released the judging criteria for its competition which challenges senior high school students in its mining communities to write a well-researched and well-argued essay on the role of coal in sustainable energy solutions for New Zealand.

Solid Energy Chief Executive Officer says: “We received a number of comments from people last week about this competition. We definitely want students to think critically about the topic of the essay and we hope that we get a range of opinions argued in the entries.”

The competition is open to year 11, 12 and 13 students in the Waikato, West Coast, Southland and Canterbury. Participants need to submit between 1500 and 2000 words on the main topic, along with 500 words on why they would benefit from winning the main prize, a trip to the World Expo in Shanghai, China. The closing date is 5pm on Friday, 9 April.

The competition entries will be independently judged on knowledge of the subject and understanding of the issues (25%), evidence of independent original thought (25%), the logical and convincing development of the argument and the conclusion (25%), presentation and grammar (15%) and evidence of personal benefit gained from attending the World Expo in Shanghai (10%). See our website www.coalnz.com for full details.

Solid Energy is running 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 the same 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 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 steel makers 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.

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