Page 192 - ISES SWC50

Michael Geyer
Country: Spain
Year joined industry: 1981
Company first worked for: German Aerospace Center DFVLR
Technology area: Solar Thermal
Still active in the industry: Yes

Michael Geyer started his pioneering work in concentrating solar power (CSP) and thermal storage in 1981 at
the German Aerospace Center. As Co-Director of the Plataforma Solar de Almeria he originated in the late 90s
the development of the EuroTrough parabolic trough collector and the use of molten salt storage in parabolic
trough plants. The EuroTrough collector has become “the mother” of European parabolic troughs and molten salt
storage the standard CSP storage technology. In the early 2000s he scaled up the R&D scale results of EuroTrough
and molten salt storage developing the worldwide first commercial scale CSP projects with 6 hour molten salt
storage - the 50 MW Andasol-1 and Andasol-2 projects in Spain. As Executive Secretary of the IEA SOLARPACES
Implementing Agreement between 2001 and 2007 he initiated an international deployment campaign to export
the success of CSP with thermal storage to the Mediterranean, North Africa and Middle East by originating the so
called SolarPACES START Missions. His subsequent professional engagement with Spanish company Abengoa
Solar between 2007 and 2016 allowed him to build up an international team of researchers, engineers, operation,
maintenance, legal and finance experts to start development of CSP projects worldwide in Europe, Africa, Middle
East and Asia – pioneering with the origination and development of the following successful CSP projects: 100 MW
Shams parabolic trough plant in Abu Dhabi, UAE; 100 MW Kaxu and 100MW Xina parabolic trough plants with
molten salt thermal storage and 50 MW Khi superheated steam solar tower with steam thermal storage in Northern
Cape, South Africa. Currently Michael is focussing on making molten salt thermal energy storage competitive and
useful for its application beyond CSP – advising the DLR on the decarbonization of coal plants with thermal storage
and Malta Inc. on the market implementation of pumped heat electricity storage.

Lee Gordon
Country: United States
Year joined industry: 1982
Company first worked for: Solarex
Technology area: PV
Still active in the industry: Yes

Lee Gordon started at Solarex in the early 1980s. He co-founded Integrated Power Corporation (IPC) with Ken
Gerken in mid 1980s. IPC was one of the earliest systems-engineering companies and including many commercial
PV and hybrid systems for telecom and oil/gas customers, village electrification projects in Mexico, Indonesia,
Australia, and Papua New Guinea. Lee founded Morningstar Corporation in 1993 to focus on system controllers
and power electronics for off-grid PV systems. Lee has been a mentor to multiple generations of system designers
around the world, and is a true solar pioneer.

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