Author
Chasing The Sun
Solar Adventures Around the World
by Neville Williams
"Chasing the Sun" is a story of dreamers and doers who succeeded in their mission to make the world better by delivering nature's energy to poor people and by building organizations to put the sun at their service in practical, affordable and effective ways. A green-energy development narrative that is fun and eye-opening, the book is also part autobiography.
"Neville Williams did not invent solar cells, but he has tirelessly promoted them. If two billion people in developing countries one day get electricity, it will be because of the groundwork he has laid. Chasing the Sun engagingly chronicles the author’s enduring effort to build a solar world.”
— Lester R. Brown, president, Earth Policy Institute
“Chasing the Sun is a fascinating account of the author’s personal odyssey to promote solar energy in the developing world. Reading this book, I was reminded of what my good friend, the late Buckminster Fuller once said - ‘There is no shortage of energy on this planet; but there is a serious shortage of intelligence!’. Neville Williams shows how intelligent, local solutions can be found to meet energy needs of communities across Asia and Africa. This should be an eye-opener for donors and policy-makers alike.”
— Sir Arthur C Clarke, inventor of the communications satellite
“You, too, can help save the world. Read this book!”
— Thom Hartmann, author of 'The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight"
"I really loved your book. I got so excited about it I told Hillary and Chelsea to read it, and then made everyone in the Clinton Foundation read it. It's terrific!"
— President Bill Clinton (personal comment to the author)
"Williams's journey to spread solar in the developing world may make him the solar equivalent of Johnny Appleseed. He thinks he's just a 'normal chap'. But if you ask the locals of the settlement of Morapatawa, in the northwest corner of Sri Lanka, where he helped establish a co-op that brought power to a group of cashew growers at the end of a five-kilometer track, he is a blooming genius."
— From Apollo's Fire, by Jay Inslee and Bracken Hendricks |
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Entrepreneur
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Solar Electric Light Fund
Neville Williams founded the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), a non-profit organization based in Washington DC, devoted to financing and facilitating solar rural electrification which has assisted national governments and community organizations to implement "solar seed" projects in India, China, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Brazil, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands. SELF has received the Green Cross Millennium Award, the Chevron Conservation Award, and the Tech Museum for Innovation Award among other honors..
Pulimarang, was Nepal's first solar village, where SELF's solar electrification brought lighting to 100 families replacing their kerosene lamps.Nepal's prime minister personally dedicated the project in 1995. SELF spawned the country's national solar rural electrification program, along with many others in 11 developing countries..
Solar Electric Light Company
In 1997, with seed money from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and capital from European investors, Williams founded the Solar Electric Light Company, or SELCO. Today, SELCO-India, headquartered in Bangalore, employs over 200 people at its 30 solar home centers in South India.
"Congratulations for making SELCO a household name and for setting the standard that others have followed. You have done much more in 12 years than create a great company. You've created an industry."
— Erich Usher, Energy Programme Officer, United Nations Environment Programme
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Williams with portion of 204kW solar array atop U.S. Department of Energy headquarters in Washington, DC
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Standard Solar
Williams founded Standard Solar Inc. in 2005. Its residential grid-tied solar home systems range from 2kW to 11kW, with most averaging 4kW. The Company also sells commercial and institutional PV systems; it installed a 205kW solarelectric array atop the U.S. Dept. of Energy on the Mall in Washington in July 2008.
The Company has completed large solar power systems atop the National Archives II, The National Institutes of Health, Catholic University in Washington, American University, a 150kW system at Raven's Stadium, Baltimore for BG&E, and a 700kW array at the Rockville Ice Arena in Maryland, the largest rooftop solarelectric system in the mid-Atlantic. The Company is also moving into utility scale PV projects, while remaining focused on its core business, residential solar home systems.
"We are happy to have chosen the folks at Standard Solar as our PV designers and installation team. Standard Solar will become the benchmark standard in service, expertise and friendliness in the new renewable energy movement."
— Dan Redmond, Arlington, VA
"Standard Solar is probably the best and most reliable firm or company I have ever dealt with. I would rate this company as head-and-shoulders above any home improvement company I have ever encountered in thirty-one years of homeownership. Rating 10+ in all categories!"
— Barbara Good, Silver Spring, MD
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Typical Washington area homes with 3.7 and 5.4 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric systems installed by Standard Solar Inc.
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Public Speaking
Williams has addressed professional meetings and conferences in New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Berlin, Bonn, Beijing, New York, Vienna, Bangkok, Cairo, Washington, Johannesburg, Swaziland, Harare, Nairobi, Marrakech, Kathmandu, Denver, Aspen (Aspen Institute), Boulder, Washington, DC, and London (The Royal Institute of International Affairs). He has lectured at the business schools at The University of California (Berkeley), U. of North Carolina, U. of Colorado, Cornell University, and The George Washington University.
Mr. Williams is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative (2006 - 2010) and listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World. |
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