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Green electricity company boss Eddie O'Connor has received an award from Scientific American magazine. The new award was launched in November to honour "visionaries from the worlds of research, industry and politics whose recent accomplishments point toward a brighter technological future for everyone." O'Connor heads Airtricity, Ireland's leading green electricity company. He was among 50 people selected for "Scientific American 50" awards by the editors for their achievements in 2001-2002. Airtricity sells electricity from wind to its business customers in Ireland and Northern Ireland at prices lower than conventional power. The company also builds its own wind farms and is developing Ireland's largest offshore project. O'Connor is one of two wind people among the 50, the other being American Ken Deering, a co-founder of The Wind Turbine Company (WTC), who was awarded for "designing new wind turbines that are more efficient and produce more power." WTC is developing an advanced prototype turbine, with government backing, with an unusual downwind rotor orientation (page 32). The "Scientific American 50" was announced on November 11.