Nearly 200 guests gathered at the Wind Investment Awards 2026 in London on 21st May to celebrate the best in the industry. Here are the winners in all 20 categories with comments from our judges.
On Thursday (21st May), Tamarindo held the Wind Investment Awards 2026 in London to celebrate the companies at the leading edge of the global wind sector. Around 200 guests gathered to recognise the achievements of companies and individuals in 20 categories, with 23 winners and six highly commended.
Here are the winners with comments from our judges…
Asset Management Team of the Year winner: Nuveen Infrastructure Clean Energy – Asset Management Team
The judges said: “Nuveen won in this hotly contested category for dealing with many of the sector’s biggest challenges to take its projects to financial close and beyond. Its innovative approach stood out and shows how it creates value for owners, including its use of BESS technology.”
Developer of the Year winner: Ørsted
The judges said: “Ørsted has shown great resilience to tackle challenges for renewables globally, especially offshore wind, and delivered a truly impressive series of successes in 2025. The utility has not let headwinds stop it making progress on its large projects. A very important player.”
Energy Trading Team of the Year winner: ENGIE UK RES Trading team
The judges said: “Engie UK RES Trading Team has built a sharp, modern trading set-up, and its entry showed great pride in its highly advanced trading model. It understands the risks in the sector and blends technical and commercial skills with monitoring and prediction to drive success.”
Financial Adviser of the Year winner: Green Giraffe Advisory
The judges said: “Green Giraffe showed strong commitment to the wind industry in 2025 with a wide range of case studies. From bid advisory and M&A work to debt and corporate finance deals, the company helps drive the industry forward with impressive, first-of-a-kind work.”
Industry Leader of the Year winner: Joost Bergsma, Nuveen Infrastructure Clean Energy
The judges said: “Joost has a strong track record and has shown great leadership in building up a very strong renewables platform. We were impressed with how hands-on he remains, including how he played a key role to overcome grid delays at Borkum Riffgrund 3. A worthy winner.”
Industry Leader of the Year highly commended: Barbara Zuiderwijk, Green Giraffe Advisory
The judges said: “Barbara’s entry was fantastic. Her track record of work on 180GW of projects and €32bn of deals shows rare strategic depth, dealmaking excellence and industry-wide influence. She is a role model in this industry for her work on high-stakes deals at landmark projects.”
Insurance Adviser of the Year, sponsored by RECC, winner: Renewable Risk Advisers Ltd
The judges said: “Renewable Risk Advisers impressed our judges with a high-quality entry that showcased its wide range of work, from established technologies to more niche areas such as floating wind. A very interesting entry that shows strong commitment to early-stage technologies.”
Investor of the Year winner: Mirova
The judges said: “Mirova invested in a range of projects in 2025 in a geographically diverse portfolio, and did so despite a tough environment for investors. Its entry showed how it overcame challenges in the global economy. Mirova is a longstanding, committed and dynamic wind investor.”
Law Firm of the Year winner: DLA Piper
The judges said: “DLA Piper showed how its work covered a host of the wind industry’s biggest challenges in 2025, from permitting and new turbine models to litigation and work in emerging markets. The company’s global team is playing a broad role to deliver success in the wind industry.”
Lawyer of the Year winner: Janice Schneider, Latham & Watkins LLP
The judges said: “Janice came out on top in a competitive field because of her industry-leading work in 2025 to keep US offshore wind open despite federal opposition. She secured injunctions against stop-work orders at Ørsted’s Revolution and Sunrise Wind. Hugely influential work.”
Lawyer of the Year highly commended: Azadeh Nassiri, Slaughter and May
The judges said: “Azadeh’s achievements in the last year are phenomenal, with the highlight being the vital role she played in the sale of a 50% stake in Hornsea 3 for $6.5bn. This first-of-a-kind deal attracted huge attention and helps put European offshore wind on a firm financial footing.”
Lender of the Year winner: MUFG Bank
The judges said: “MUFG worked on an outstanding number of wind transactions last year spanning Asia, Europe and the US. Its entry showcased its multi-faceted involvement as a lender and its openness to novel financing solutions. A sizeable, impactful contributor to wind globally.”
M&A Deal of the Year winner: Ørsted’s 50:50 joint venture with Apollo Infrastructure at Hornsea 3, by Ørsted, Linklaters, RBC Capital Markets, and Slaughter and May
The judges said: “Incredible. Ørsted’s $6.5bn sale of a 50% stake in Hornsea 3 to funds managed by Apollo was wind’s stand-out M&A deal in 2025. We are keen to recognise everyone who entered the deal in this category: Ørsted, Linklaters, RBC Capital Markets and Slaughter and May.”
M&A Deal of the Year highly commended: Kansai Electric Power Co Inc investment in Simply Blue Energy, by Simply Blue Energy and Green Giraffe Advisory
The judges said: “Simply Blue’s sale of an 80% stake to Kepco could be a pivotal moment in floating wind as it signals rare confidence in this part of the industry. We highly commend Simply Blue for its work on the deal, and Green Giraffe’s structuring work was essential to the deal’s success.”
Operations and Maintenance Excellence Award winner: JERA Nex bp
The judges said: “JERA Nex bp has delivered a world-first hydrogen refuelling station for maritime vessels. This deal shows great creativity and will help to further decarbonise operations at offshore wind farms. We hope to see this innovative use of green hydrogen replicated elsewhere.”
Power-to-X Innovation Award winner: Northfleet Green Hydrogen Project by RES
The judges said: “At Northfleet, RES has shown it is addressing one of the biggest challenges in the nascent power-to-X sector: securing offtakers. This innovative project shows there are firms looking to use green hydrogen in hard-to-abate industrial processes. Vital work at a crucial time.”
Project Finance Deal of the Year – Advisers winner: Financing of Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms by Clifford Chance
The judges said: “Clifford Chance delivered exceptional work on Bałtyk 2 & 3. This large and complex deal included a consortium of around 30 lenders in multiple jurisdictions, and has had a huge impact to open new opportunities for offshore wind investment in Poland. A clear winner.”
Project Finance Deal of the Year – Developers winner: Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm Financial Close – Inch Cape Offshore Limited
The judges said: “Inch Cape is a flagship offshore wind project that has achieved great success in a volatile market, and has helped to build confidence in Scotland and the UK more widely. Managing the financial side under pressure, including winning support in AR6, has set a benchmark.”
Project Finance Deal of the Year – Developers highly commended: Project BLUE by CYCAP
The judges said: “In Project BLUE, CYCAP has shown how to deliver financial solutions to unlock growth of wind repowering projects. This market-leading deal is original, creative and sets the path for future transactions. It was also great to hear how CYCAP tackled the challenges it faced.”
Project Finance Deal of the Year – Lenders winner: Fengmiao 1 Offshore Wind Farm by MUFG Bank
The judges said: “At Fengmiao 1, MUFG showed great skill in managing the complexity and risks involved in pushing forward the offshore wind industry in Taiwan. Its work in addressing technical and environmental challenges will pave the way for further investment in this key market.”
Repowering Achievement of the Year winner: Project BLUE by CYCAP
The judges said: “CYCAP has done something truly special at Project BLUE. By bringing in projects from different funds and setting a clear strategy, backed by debt funding at fund level, it proves that repowering is not just for small, isolated projects. An impressive, pioneering deal.”
Rising Star of the Year winner: Jacques Camilleri, DLA Piper
The judges said: “Jacques has achieved a huge amount in his eight years in the sector. He has worked on key deals through a boom, a bust, and now a recovery. This experience of playing a lead role on complex deals in a fast-changing market will stand him in great stead in the years ahead.”
Rising Star of the Year highly commended: Eva Topham, DNV
The judges said: “Eva deserves to be highly commended for what she has achieved in this industry. She has worked on multi-gigawatt closings across multiple technologies, and her role lifting teams and getting projects over the line – including in the US since 2022 – impressed us all.”
Technical Adviser of the Year winner: DNV
The judges said: “DNV stood out for its technical credibility and strong track record of working on some of wind’s largest and most complex projects. The firm’s ambition after almost 50 years in wind is impressive, and its work on landmark projects moves the industry forward.”
Technical Innovation Award winner: EcoBLADE – Continuous Blade Condition Monitoring System by ONYX Insight
The judges said: “ONYX Insight was a clear winner. Its understanding of the real issues of blade failures and its experience of hands-on engineering has led it to pursue practical and well-thought-out solutions. Experienced, commercially sound and with a highly impressive track record.”
Thanks to all those who attended, entered and supported the Wind Investment Awards 2026.
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