Page 208 - ISES SWC50

Herman Scheer (Deceased)
Country: Germany
Year started promoting RE: 1980’s
Company first worked for: German Politician
Technology area: Policy
Still active in the industry: No

Herman Scheer was a Social Democrat member of the German Bundestag (parliament) from 1981 to 2009. In the
mid 80’s he became a supporter/promoter of renewable energy which he dedicated his life to . Scheer believed
that the continuation of current patterns of energy supply and use would be environmentally, socially economically,
and politically damaging, with renewable energy being the only realistic alternative. Scheer had concluded that it
is technically and environmentally feasible to harness enough solar radiation to achieve a total replacement of the
fossil/nuclear energy system by a global renewable energy economy. In 1988 he created the Association Eurosolar
and was first president. Scheer presented the idea of an IRENA for the first time in 1990. He intervened successfully
at the UN in New York and its General Assembly voted indeed in December 1990 for the creation of IRENA which
came into existence in 2009. In 2001 Scheer created the World Council for Renewable Energy and was the General
Chairman. Scheer was instrumental in having the Bundestag adopt the ‘FIT’ that became legally binding for Wind
Energy in 1990 and for PV and other Renewable Electricity in several steps in 2001. Scheer created the intellectual
ground for the Solar Revolution: before his passing in 2010 almost every second day he was lecturing somewhere
in the World based on a sheer endless list of publications. He published a dozen books most of which are translated
into English and other languages. He received many accolade’s and awards including: Time Magazine named him
a ‘Hero of the Green Century’. The Swedish Parliament awarded him the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’. He also received
as a first winner the ‘World Photovoltaic Prize’ by the World PV Community. In 2009 he was awarded the Karl Böer
Solar Energy Medal of Merit.

Wolfgang Schleffer
Country: Germany
Year joined industry: 1982
Company first worked for: Self employed
Technology area: Solar Thermal
Still active in the industry: Yes

Wolfgang Scheffler has invented and promoted flexible fix focus reflectors since 1982. From the 90s the design
was named “Scheffler Reflectors”. He developed a unique concept that allows the focal point of the concentrating
reflector to maintain its position at all times. This is achieved through a combination of the flexible paraboloid
changing its shape in the course of the seasons and a daily tracking around earth axis parallel. Tracking can be
achieved manually, semi- or fully automated. Scheffler worked with people, organizations and companies in many
countries of the Global South in order to give free access to energy by sharing his knowledge. Scheffler Reflectors
are used in wide range of applications ranging from small school kitchens to a solar power plant (IndiaOne). The
range of application is from direct cooking with a pot in the focal point, to steam generation at large scale and high
pressure. The most wide spread use is institutional canteens, second is process steam for industries. Thousands
of reflectors are in use worldwide with sizes ranging from 2m² to 60m², most of them coupled in arrays for steam
generation.

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