Page 211 - ISES SWC50

Geoff Stapleton
Country: Australia
Year joined industry: 1987
Company first worked for: BP Solar Australia
Technology area: PV
Still active in the industry: Yes

Geoff Stapleton specialised in solar (PV) energy in the final year of his electrical engineering degree in 1981. His
thesis was on solar water pumping systems. In 1985 while working for Australian Dept of Aviation he was involved
in the design of the first solar powered obstruction light located at a rural airport. He started work full time in the solar
industry in late 1987 when he joined BP Solar Australia. In 1989 he started his own company on the south coast of
NSW where he designed, installed and maintained off grid power systems. 1995-2000 he worked as a consultant
with an electricity utility involved with designing and installing off-grid and grid connected systems. In 1998 he
was one of the co-founders of Global Sustainable Energy Solutions Pty Ltd (GSES). GSES is a multi-disciplinary
organisation specialising in professional engineering and training services across the Renewable Energies sector.
Geoff has undertaken projects in Australia, Africa, Asia and the Pacific islands. He was a part-time senior lecturer at
the UNSW School of PV and RE Engineering from 2003 to 2015.He played an active role in the various Australian
industry associations from 1991. From 1992 to 2002 he was chair of the NSW chapter of Solar Energy Industry
Association of Australia (SEIAA) which later evolved to Sustainable Energy Industries Association (Australia). He
was a member, and later Chair, of the Renewable and Sustainable Technical Advisory committee for 10 years, that
oversaw the ongoing management of renewable energy training units in Australia. He was member of IEA PVPS
Task 9 Deployment of PV in Developing Countries. In 2020 Geoff is still: Member of Standards Australia EL42
Working Groups and IEC TC82 JWG1; Board Member and Treasurer of International Solar Energy Society (ISES);
and Secretary of the Sustainable Energy Industry Association of Pacific Islands (SEIAPI).

Jeff Stevens (Deceased)
Country: Zimbabwe
Year joined industry: 1980
Company first worked for: London Area Flight Information Centre
Technology area: PV
Still active in the industry: No

Jeff Stevens wanted to bring the ISES Solar World Congress to Zimbabwe since 1983; in 1987 he proposed it to the
Board of Directors in Hamburg, and it was accepted at the 1989 Kobe Solar World Congress. As a result, he worked
almost full-time on organising the conference, with reports presented at the 1991 Denver and the 1993 Budapest
Solar World Congresses. Jeff was not originally trained in solar, rather he was a meteorologist, for many years
providing meteorological information to aircraft, including in World War II. After finishing his British Military Service
in 1947, followed by a tour of duty in India and Pakistan, Jeff served for three years as the Senior Meteorological
Officer at the London Area Flight Information Centre. As serious air travel started in Africa (1951), Jeff was put
in charge pf the Meteorological stations in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia). He stayed on, becoming the Director of
Meteorology in Zimbabwe. It was after he retired in 1980, Jeff ‘found’ solar. He co-founded the Solar Energy Society
of Zimbabwe (SESOZ) and served as Treasurer, Chairman and Honorary Secretary. In bringing ISES to Africa, Jeff
made a big impact: President Mugabe not only opened the Congress with a major speech, he also visited the ISES
exhibition, bringing with him other Heads of State who were officially visiting Zimbabwe at the time. The 1995
World Congress in Zimbabwe helped raise the profile of all renewable energy technologies in Africa, including solar
home systems for off-grid homes. It also kindled an interest in the ISES Board to reach out to Africa in terms of
knowledge transfer. Cruelly, Jeff died less than a month after the Congress whilst fighting a brush fire in his garden.
However, his foresight in bringing ISES to Africa and opening up the opportunities for solar live on.

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