Philip Wolfe (engineer)

Philip Rowland Wolfe MBE is one of the pioneers of the British renewable energy sector.

Philip Wolfe
Philip Wolfe in 2012
Born1950
Maidenhead, United Kingdom
EducationMaster of Arts in Engineering, Cambridge University
OccupationRenewable energy developer, author

He first became involved in the 1970s, leading various photovoltaics companies until the turn of the century. As Director-General of the Renewable Energy Association he led the campaign for Feed-in Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive.

He has written many publications and is responsible for a number of innovations and initiatives.

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to renewable energy and the energy sector.[1]

Sustainable energy policy

The campaign for the introduction of the Renewable Heat Incentive and Feed-in tariffs in the United Kingdom was led by Friends of the Earth and the Renewable Energy Association,[2] when Philip Wolfe was Director General, between 2003 and 2009.[3] He edited the first blueprint for these measures to assist early government drafting.[4]

He first proposed the Energy hierarchy,[5] and initiated the consumer assurance REAL Code (since renamed Renewable Energy Consumer Code) for microgeneration.[6]

Renewable energy industry

As general manager of Lucas Industries' solar power subsidiary in the early 1970s, Philip Wolfe negotiated the joint venture with BP[7] to create what became BP Solar and was its first Chief Executive.

He was a founding director of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA, since renamed Solar Power Europe) and its third President from 1987 to 1989. He was a founding director of the Renewable Energy Association and its Director General from 2002 to 2009.

He is an expert on solar parks[8] and has pioneered their introduction in the UK.[9][10] Following the publication of his book on the subject,[11] he founded the information resource on utility-scale solar power, Wiki-Solar. A series of articles in 2019 explained the differences between individual power plants, solar parks and clusters, and identified the largest in the world at the time.[12][13][14][15]

Community Energy

His background in utility-scale solar power led to Wolfe's involvement in the community sector when he was appointed as chairman of Westmill Solar Co-operative and led the public offering[16] and acquisition of the world's largest community-owned solar power station.[17]

He was subsequently involved in the creation of Community Energy England, to represent the community energy sector in the United Kingdom, and was its first elected chairman in 2014. He was a member of the British government's Shared Ownership Taskforce, and appointed its vice-chair in 2015.[18]

Innovation

Amongst Philip Wolfe's innovations were the UK's first: grid-connected solar power station at Marchwood,[19] building-integrated renewables at Energy World in Milton Keynes (opened by then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher),[20] and solar roofing slate.[21][22]

Publications

Books

The Solar Generation, Wiley-IEEE[23]

Solar Photovoltaic Projects in the mainstream energy market, Routledge

Sustainable Energy Options for business, DōShorts

Policy papers

Energy hierarchy[5]

Priorities for low carbon transition, The Policy Network

Preliminary blueprint: Feed-in Tariffs and Renewable Heat Incentive, Renewable Energy Association

References
  1. "No. 61450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2015. p. N26.
  2. "Feed-in tariffs receive boost in Energy Bill amendment". GreenWise. 18 November 2008. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  3. "New appointments at the UK's largest renewables trade body". Renewable Energy Association. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  4. Debenham, Cathy (30 March 2009). "Blueprint for feed-in tariffs proposed by industry". YouGen. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  5. Wolfe, Philip. "A proposed Energy Hierarchy" (PDF). WolfeWare. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  6. "Consumer Code for household micro generation clears first OFT hurdle". Renewable Energy Assurance. 1 February 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  7. "BP and Lucas form solar company". Electronics and Power. March 1981. doi:10.1049/ep.1981.0091. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  8. Hill, Joshua (22 February 2013). "Giant Solar Farm Capacity Doubling Inside 12 Months, Breaking 12 GW". CleanTechnica. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  9. Dicks, K S (11 January 2011). "The Race to UK Solar Parks". PV Insider. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  10. Chan, Julia (1 November 2012). "Westmill Solar Park becomes world's largest co-operatively owned solar farm". Solar Power Portal. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  11. Wolfe, Philip (22 October 2012). Solar photovoltaic projects in the mainstream energy market. Routledge. p. 230. ISBN 9780415520485. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  12. Wolfe, Philip. "The world's largest solar power stations" (PDF). Wiki-Solar. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  13. Wolfe, Philip. "The world's largest solar parks" (PDF). Wiki-Solar. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  14. Wolfe, Philip. "The world's largest solar power stations" (PDF). Wiki-Solar. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  15. Wolfe, Philip. "Large clusters of solar power stations" (PDF). Wiki-Solar. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  16. "Westmill Solar Co-operative Limited share offer document" (PDF). westmillsolar.coop. Westmill Solar Co-operative Limited. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  17. Darling, Millie. "Pension funds are quitting fossil fuels. Could they invest in community energy instead?". 1010uk.org/. 10:10. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  18. "Government response to the Shared Ownership Taskforce". Department of Energy and Climate Change. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  19. Scott, R D W (1984). Marchwood Project – 30 Kilowatts Marchwood Power Station Site. Photovoltaic Power Generation. Solar Energy R&D in the European Community. 4. pp. 277–292. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-6342-9_17. ISBN 978-94-009-6344-3.
  20. "The Energy Park". Milton Keynes Development Corporation. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  21. "Photovoltaic building elements". Patent application. UD Patent Office. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  22. "Solar for slate roofs". Green Energy News. 19 January 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  23. Wolfe, Philip (May 2018). The Solar Generation: Childhood and Adolescence of Terrestrial Photovoltaics. New Jersey: Wiley - IEEE. p. 424. ISBN 978-1-119-42558-8. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
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