Page 258 - ISES SWC50

Hans-Josef Fell
Country: Germany
Year started promoting RE: early 1990s
Company first worked for: German Politician
Technology area: Policy
Still active in the industry: Yes

Hans-Josef Fell joined the Green Party in 1992 following years of interest in renewable energy and environmental
protection. He was elected as a member of German Bundestag (parliament) in 1998 and remained a member to 2013.
From 1999 to 2005, as spokesman of the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group on the German Bundestag’s
research committee, Hans-Josef Fell helped to ensure an increase in funding for research into photovoltaics,
concentrating solar power, geothermal energy, bioenergy, batteries for electric cars, bionics, nanotechnology and
others. He served as a member of the Environmental Protection Committee, substitute member of the Committee
on Economics and Technology and substitute member of the Defence Committee. Together with Hermann Scheer,
he authored the 2000 draft of the Renewable Energy Sources Act, establishing the foundation for the technology
developments in photovoltaic, biogas, wind power and geothermal energy in Germany. Fell is founder and president
of the Energy Watch Group and an internationally renowned energy and climate change advisor, author and speaker.
He has won many awards including: Solar Prize of the European Solar Energy Association(1994); Energy Globe
Award (2000); Solar; German Solar Industry Prize (2002); Bonda Prize of (EPIA) (2006); Bavarian Order of Merit
(2012) and The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2015).

Harish Hande

Country: India
Year joined industry: 1992
Company first worked for: SELCO
Technology area: PV
Still active in the industry: Yes

Harish Hande, the founder and Chief Executive of SELCO Foundation, is a renewable energy entrepreneur with
over 25 years of grassroots experience in meeting the energy needs of underserved populations. He is also the
co-founder (with Neville Williams) of SELCO India – a pioneering last mile rural energy enterprise based in India
since the early nineties. SELCO sees the pressing need to develop a fertile environment to enhance sustainable
energy access solutions for the poor. This energy access increases incomes, improves quality of life, and alleviates
poverty, turning energy consumers into asset owners. Last mile energy solutions have clear commercial viability,
and SELCO works to combine technical and non-technical aspects focused on alleviating poverty in a sustainable
manner.Today, SELCO is an umbrella of organizations, each tasked to address gaps in the energy access ecosystem.
SELCO India established in 1995 runs grassroots operations which sell, install, and service decentralized energy
solutions like solar lights systems for households, institutions, digital education, livelihood appliances etc. financed
by local financial institutions. SELCO Foundation established in 2010 is an open-source innovation research lab for
replicable social innovations across areas: livelihoods, education, and health. SELCO’s incubation program created
in 2012 nurtures and catalyzes aspiring clean energy enterprises that deploy and maintain sustainable solutions
for underserved communities. Finally, SELCO Fund registered in 2016 is an impact fund that seeks to deploy
patient capital such as equity or debt to last mile energy access enterprises. SELCO operates at every level of the
system and at every point in the supply chain, to build an ecosystem that increases accessibility, affordability, and
appropriate renewable energy solutions for the poor. Collectively SELCO has so far impacted over 2 million people.
Harish, a graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and a Masters and PhD from University
of Massachusetts, US. In recognition of his vision and the efforts of SELCO, they have been awarded national
and international awards including the reputed Zayed Future Energy Prize in 2018 and the Skoll Award for Social
Entrepreneurship – 2018. In 2011, Harish was conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award in recognition of his vision
to catalyse development outcomes via sustainable energy.

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