Page 205 - ISES SWC50

Markus Real
Country: Switzerland
Year joined industry: 1982
Company first worked for: Alpha Real
Technology area: PV
Still active in the industry: Yes

After 6 years of solar thermal research at Federal Reactor Research Institute Markus Real left and formed Alpha Real
in 1982. The company focussed on solar and wind projects however in 1985 Real worked with Mercedes Benz to
build a solar powered cart which won the first Tour de Sol. In the summer of 1986 Real launched Project Megawatt
– to find 333 power plant owners (3kW each). The project was a success and within a year, the 333 solar systems
with an output of one MW were connected to the grid. For the first time worldwide, the large-scale implementation
of building-integrated solar systems was demonstrated. The smart grid , the concept of decentralized consumers
and producers, was born and the controversy about reimbursement of the energy that was fed back into the grid
broke out. This led to the development of a net metering meter. Alpha Real developed the solar roof tile to facilitate
the integration of solar into roofs. In 1995 Real decided to withdraw from the development of photovoltaics. In
1997, Real, together with Peter Varadi founded the NGO Photovoltaic Global Approval Program (PVGAP) based
in Geneva in order to obtain an internationally recognized seal of approval PVGAP) for photovoltaics. In 1998, Real
installed the first heat pump for hot water generation in the Brazilian state of Bahia , which, thanks to ambient
temperatures of around 30 ° C , achieves a coefficient of performance of 10 and performs better in terms of energy
than solar collector systems with electrical backup in tropical climates. In 2002 he founded Bagasse Biorefining
AG with Andre Reynier and Stefan Grass to produce high-quality industrial fibres from sugar cane waste. In 2009
Real also started a joint venture with Pierre Landolt for the realization of solar power plants in Brazil.

Tjerk Reijenga

Country: Netherlands
Year joined industry: 1980
Company first worked for: W/E Adviseurs Gouda (Nederland) / CJ de
Bruin Architect
Technology area: Solar Architecture/Buildings
Still active in the industry: Yes

Tjerk Reijenga finished his masters at Delft University of Technology in 1980 with a design for an integrated
sustainable solar city. He received an award for his work from the Delft University of Technology. This award
was given for the ‘Innovative design and thinking’ about future Sustainable Cities. During his study he founded
a company with others for the consultancy and design of more energy efficient housing. This company ‘W/E
adviseurs’ still exist. From 1980 his focus was to make Solar buildings. One of the first opportunities was in 1983
in Schiedam Woudhoek. A project of over 650 row houses and apartments was designed following the rules for
Passive Solar Design. The vice-mayor of Schiedam (ir. Chris Zijdeveld, President of the International Solar Cities
initiative) supported the principles and made it possible in his city. Tjerk’s holistic approach can be found in early
projects like ‘Bio-climatic houses in Goirle’, 1984 and ‘Flatrenovatie met klimaatgevels in Tilburg’ 1985. Both are
thermal solar projects within the EU Thermie program. He started his own architectural office ‘BEAR Architecten’ in
1985. The first project was 20 Passive solar Eco-houses in Gouda followed by solar projects like “The Small Earth”
in Boxtel (Thermie), “The Green Roof” in Utrecht, “Green house dwellings” in Spijkenisse (Thermie), renovation of
labs for ECN in Petten (Thermie) and renovation of thermal solar dwellings “Zonnewende” in Leiden into the first
BIPV project in NL. During the period 1990 to 1995 Tjerk Reijenga and his company BEAR Architecten became
one of the leading Sustainable Design Companies in the Netherlands. The transparent roof integration in “The
Small Earth” in Boxtel became one of the first in the world. He was a member of the IEA PVPS Task 7 on ‘Building
Integration of Photo-Voltaics’. He also contributed to over 12 books on solar.

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