Toronto: In a gala ceremony on November 15, the 2011 Probyn Prize was presented to Rob McLeese of Access Capital. He accepted the award on behalf of himself and his late father Willis McLeese, who were awarded the Prize jointly in recognition of many years of innovative and commendable work in the power generation business.
Colin Coolican of Regional Power made the presentation on behalf of the Probyn Prize Selection Committee. Mr. Coolican noted that “This pair of dynamic individuals exemplifies the best qualities in the industry and the goals the Probyn Prize was established for. They have made great contributions to the power generation business.”
“For decades, Robert McLeese and his father have continued to innovate and take unprecedented steps to ensure renewable energy projects got off the ground. The McLeeses are amongst a handful of individuals who created the framework that allows us today to produce renewable energy so effectively,” said David Butters, President of APPrO. “For these reasons, they are the perfect candidates for the Probyn Prize as they had the vision to see the potential of renewable energy and took bold steps to make it a reality.”
The father and son team began developing a portfolio of sustainable energy projects in the 1980s and broke into the Canadian market in the 1990s, providing many small and medium-sized companies the funding and development support needed to invest in environmental projects. Their leadership has allowed for significant advances in the sustainable energy sector: they provided counsel and financial support, which helped to ensure the implementation of countless power projects across Canada and the USA.
In 2011 the Probyn Prize came with a $10,000 donation to be made to a charity chosen by the prize recipient. Mr. McLeese chose the Georgian Riding Association for Challenged Equestrians, or GRACE. GRACE is a non-profit organization based near Owen Sound that helps those who are physically, mentally or emotionally challenged to move forward and improve the quality of their life, through the interaction with horses.”
APPrO Executive Director Jake Brooks noted that the McLeese’s “pushed the limits of the sector and cut pathways for new kinds of development that benefitted both consumers and the environment. They found ways to make use of difficult fuels, in some cases byproducts that would have otherwise gone to waste. They helped to break down the monopoly of powerful incumbent utilities, and assisted players in the financial community to understand the sector well enough to facilitate categories of investments that would have previously been nearly impossible to fund. In addition, they earned a reputation for working with local communities and industry associations to build positive relationships, all while producing benefits to the environment through energy efficiency, waste recovery, renewable energy and site remediation.”
Willis McLeese was one of the first members of APPrO’s predecessor organization, IPPSO, near the time when it began operating in 1988. Rob and Willis founded companies that would become hallmark examples of the kind of innovation, competitive spirit and social responsibility that the power sector has been able to demonstrate in so many places in recent years. These two men in many respects laid the groundwork that others would use to build what is now a thriving competitive electricity sector, serving as an example and clearing pathways for much of the innovation and success in the energy industry that followed.
Access Capital advised and/or assisted the financing of:
• Cobalt Power (hydro)
• Potter Station (waste heat recovery and gas fired)
• West Windsor (gas fired cogen)
• Long Sault (hydro)
• A 500 MW combined cycle project in the UK
• The acquisition of a 25% interest in Kingston Cogen by Northland Power
Access Capital was the #3 solar integrator in California in 2003 and 2004. In addition, it developed and/or acquired and optimized several power projects including Colmac Energy, a 47 MW biomass plant near Mecca California.
The Probyn Prize was established in 2008 to recognize “significant advances and achievements in financial markets, public policy or science and technology that promote action on climate change and sustainable development.”