ABSTRACT
After we realized that we did have the money to start Solarex, we reviewed again what we should do. Naturally, writing about it 40 years later has the advantage of providing a much more complete picture which can include other peoples’ opinions.At the time, Joseph Lindmayer and I were considering and were in the process of starting a company devoted to producing photovoltaic solar cells and systems for terrestrial application, the idea of doing something about the terrestrial utilization of solar energy also occurred to other people. We just did not know that our thinking was totally contrary to what the “prevailing view” was.In 1972/73, in the USA and in Europe the solar cell research conducted in the past 20 years in government and non-government research laboratories was focused exclusively on space applications, and small companies25 (in Europe and in the USA) existed producing PV cells and modules for space use.About this industry Wolfgang Palz writes26: “The photovoltaic industry at that time was involved in space activities and in 25Curtin DJ (1972) 25th Power Sources Symposium, 134.26Palz W (11-15 May 1981) IEEE Photovoltaic Specialist Conference, Houston, TX.
