Page 84 - ISES SWC50

Late 70s
• Father Bernard Verspieren had been running a mission in Mali and formed an NGO titled Mali Aqua Viva
for providing wells for drinking water. After seeing the PV water pump in Corsica he introduced solar water
pumping in Mali. The first system used Solar Power Corporation solar modules and pumps from Pompes
Guinard. Later the pumps used were from Grundfos and the modules from many manufacturers.

1979
• In March 1979 Wolfgang Paltz organises on behalf of the EU commission a Governmental conference
“The Sun in the Service of Development” in Italy. Regional seminars had been undertaken prior to the
conference which raised the profile of solar as an option, these included:
o Nairobi, Kenya in September 1978;
o Bamako, Mali in September 1978;
o Anman, Jordan in October 1978;
o Caracas, Venezuela in October 1978; and
o New Delhi, India in October 1978.

7.8 Research Pioneers 1970-1979

Bruce Anderson

Country: United States
Year Started Research: 1972
Title of Research: Solar Energy and Shelter Design
University: MIT
Still Active in Research: Yes

Bruce Anderson began his solar research career in 1973 with his MS thesis at MIT called “Solar Energy and Shelter
Design.” He founded T.E.A. Inc (Total Environmental Action), which became one of the largest and best-known
solar design, research, and education firms in the world. Among numerous other houses, beginning in 1975 the
company built the Tyrrell House, the first house in the US to use the Trombe-Michel concrete passive wall; the
first northern house to use Harold Hay’s passive water roof; the first house in the world to combine a version of
Harry Thomason’s trickle roof system with several passive features (the “Goosebrook House”); and the “Brookhaven
House”, a super-insulated passive “house for the masses” for Brookhaven National Laboratory. Its “Solar Home
Design in Four Climates” won a national design competition in 1975 sponsored by the Research Corporation of
the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The company’s research work began in 1976 with “Non-Conventional
Incentives for the Adoption of Solar Buildings” for the National Science Foundation (NSF). Other examples include
“Study of Photovoltaic Residential Retrofits” for US DOE; “Determination of the National Solar Bank Loan Table for
Passive Solar Systems” for the US Housing and Urban Development Agency (HUD); and “Energy Saver Homes
Point Rating System” for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). His 1977 “Solar Energy: Fundamentals in Building
Design” published by McGraw-Hill became a best-selling college textbook. The American Solar Energy Society
honored him with its first “Outstanding Solar Contribution Award” in 1985. MIT Press published “Solar Building
Architecture”, which he edited, volume 9 in the Series “Solar Heat Technologies: Fundamentals and Applications,”
edited by Charles A. Bankston. Recently, Bruce co-invented a 1000ºCsolar heat platform and, as CEO of 247Solar
Inc., is commercializing 247Solar Plants™, the platform’s first product. The Plants produce power and high-quality
heat 24/7.

66 | ISES SWC50 - The Century of Solar-Stories and Visions