The name of Henrik Stiesdal may be unfamiliar to most readers, but this unassuming elderly Dane may become one of the most significant figures in the history of electricity generation, joining such illustrious names as Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse. While these earlier giants enabled the industrial-scale generation of electricity that changed the everyday lives of much of the population of the planet, Stiesdal's innovations may be key to allowing us to maintain these voltage-hungry lifestyles without compromising the planet's ability to support human life.Stiesdal is credited with the innovations that enabled the development of the offshore wind turbine, currently the most efficient way to harness the planet's natural processes to generate electricity without contributing to climate change. With the cost of offshore wind tumbling, and the rapid development of large-scale electricity storage at manageable cost, offshore wind is proving to be the most important type of renewable energy generation around the world. Stiesdal's achievements saw him shortlisted for the lifetime achievement prize at this year's European Patent Office Inventor Awards, at a ceremony held in Paris.
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