Joe Iannucci, who was a member of Distributed Energy’s editorial board until his death in 2004, was in the minds of many the guiding force in distributed power generation. So profound was his impact on the field that a group of his peers developed the Joe Iannucci Distinguished Distributed Resources Achievement Award, whose first recipient is William Parks, a deputy director with US Department of Energy who has been in charge of many of the establishment’s DG/CHP programs.

The award was presented by its Board of Colleagues at a Department of Energy Peer Review session in May 2006. Representing the board were Eric Wong of Cummins Power Generation, who introduced the award to the attendees, followed by Peter Carroll of the Talbot County (Maryland) Council, formerly with Solar Turbines, who joined in by phone to announce the winner. Finally, it fell to Susan Horgan of Distributed Utility Associates Inc. at Livermore, CA—the company founded by Joe Iannucci—to present the award to its winner.

Introduction by Eric Wong:
We have a special person to remember. Some of you are young in your careers, but the majority of you remember Joe Iannucci, considered one of the founders of the distributed generation movement. We also have a special person to recognize.

Today, I want you to recall the truism, “It takes a village to raise a child.” The same can be said about the distributed energy resources industry—but in this case, this is how one individual, on his own, became the entire village. In 1990, this individual came on the national scene, but before we identify that person, I want to read some lines from a tribute to Joe Iannucci that appeared eighteen months ago in the Distributed Energy journal [http://www.distributedenergy.com/de_0501_guest_editorial.html]:

“Joe Iannucci, an icon of the distributed resources industry, passed away Nov. 4, 2004. Although cancer claimed Joe, his body of seminal work will long continue to be cited as the concept he helped define becomes mainstream.

“While the humble beginnings of the DR movement can be traced to the early 1990s, the seed was planted several years earlier. Carl Weinberg and Joe, then of Pacific Gas & Electric, proposed the distributed utility concept. Based on multiple generation sources located within the distribution system, it was a radical departure from the centralized generation, transmission, and distribution paradigm that had ruled since the days of Public Utility Company Holding Act. Such an intellectual [lightning] bolt lit up the usually staid power industry.”

Joe was recognized in January 2004 by his peers with the Distinguished Achievement Award, and further, inspired by and in memoriam to Joe, his colleagues formed a board to award, on an as-deserving basis, the Joe Iannucci Distributed Resources Distinguished Achievement Award.

Presentation by Susan Horgan:
William Parks is recognized for his outstanding contributions to science and his unfaltering service to the distributed energy community worldwide, and to the advancement of the integration of Distributed Energy Resources in the nation.

Landmark achievements:

• A core developer of the distributed energy movement
• Prominent supporter of national DG Interconnection Standard
• Key contributor in development of Solar Turbines’ Mercury 50
• Dedicated mentor, teacher
• Profoundly nice guy

Presented this 25th day of May, 2006, with profound admiration and gratitude for his dedication, professionalism, and contributions.

We at Distributed Energy feel blessed by our all-too-brief association with Joe Iannucci, and pleased to see work carried forth by such dedicated bearers of his torch as William Parks. Congratulations

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DE - November/December 2006