Page 135 - ISES SWC50

Steve Sawyer (1956-2019)
Country: Netherlands
Year joined industry: 1978
Company first worked for: Greenpeace International
Technology area: The renewable energy transition, but in later years
specifically wind
Still active in the industry: No

Steve Sawyer had a distinguished career as an anti-nuclear and climate campaigner, Executive Director of
Greenpeace International, and the first General Secretary of The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). During his
time at Greenpeace he faced personal danger on numerous occasions, before steering the organisation towards an
increased emphasis on the issue of climate change and greater engagement with the nascent renewable energy
industry. In the run-up to the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, in his role as Executive Director, he catalyzed and supported
the organization’s landmark publication “Towards a Fossil Free Future Energy Future: The Next Transition.” He went
on to contribute to many of the organization’s studies and campaigns in support of a renewable energy future.
He joined GWEC as its first General Secretary in 2007, as he was convinced that the wind industry would play
a fundamental role in replacing greenhouse gas emissions and in leading the transition to a new energy system.
He also supported the work of many individuals and organizations in the field. He was a founding member of the
REN21 Renewable Energy Policy Network and remained on its steering committee until his death. He was also a
founding member of the IEA’s Renewable Industry Advisory Board and served on the steering committee of the
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Coalition for Action. During Steve’s tenure at the head of GWEC,
global wind installations grew from 74GW to 539GW and became one of the world’s most important energy
sources. He contributed significantly to the development of the wind industry in places such as India, China, Brazil
and South Africa. He was a prominent speaker in public and private forums, wrote innumerable articles, blogs and
position papers, and was a mentor to many young people in the field.

John Schaeffer

Country: United States
Year joined industry: 1976
Company first worked for: Real Goods Trading Company
Technology area: PV
Still active in the industry: Yes

John Schaeffer graduated from UC Berkeley in 1971 from whence he moved to an archetypal ‘commune’ in
Mendocino County and pioneered off-the-grid living. After living on the commune for several years with kerosene
lamps and no refrigeration, Schaeffer began to experiment with some crude battery powered systems, employing
his Volkswagen bug to charge a spare battery while he drove. In 1976, Schaeffer experimented with hand made
wind generators (55 gallon drums cut in half) and added some 12 volt lighting and a 12 volt television to his
rustic off-the-grid cabin. Noticing the giant influx of people escaping city life in the late 1970s, Schaeffer created
the ‘Real Goods Trading Company’ and it took off like a rocket. Soon there were 3 Real Goods stores in Northern
California and the clientele consisted of off-the-grid pioneers, many of whom were illicit Cannabis growers. In 1978
Schaeffer located 9 watt PV panels that were space program rejects that sold for $100 per watt, and they sold
like hot cakes. The only people that could afford this kind of electricity in the backwoods were Cannabis growers
and consequently the solar industry and the Cannabis industry in California became inextricably linked. Schaeffer
went on to establish the Real Goods Solar Living Center in Hopland California that was a demonstration laboratory
for all things sustainable including renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, alternatively powered vehicles, etc.
The Solar Living Center hosted over 5 million visitors from its inception in 1996 until Schaeffer sold it in 2019 to
Cannabis entrepreneurs at Flow Kana. Over those several decades, the nonprofit Solar Living Institute, an offshoot
of Real Goods, trained thousands into the solar industry, in natural building, and in regenerative agriculture. Real
Goods was a pioneer of photovoltaics and solar energy in the USA, and its legacy lives on.

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