GTEC’s Griff Thomas recently attended the Solar & Storage Live Awards 2021 at the Birmingham NEC – a fantastic event that celebrated the achievements and innovations of the solar sector.
To top off the evening, George Goudsmit of AES Solar was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of more than 30 years of dedicated service to the solar industry.
Griff has had the pleasure of working with George on several projects promoting solar over the years, with GTEC, AES Solar and at the Solar Energy UK.
A worthy winner – congratulations George!
Solar pioneer
George took the reins at AES Solar in 1989 when the technology was very much in its infancy, predicting huge growth for the emerging sector.
More than 30 years later, George is still actively running AES Solar – the UK’s only solar thermal manufacturing facility – exploring new products and concepts and pushing the boundaries of the potential of solar power.
George was commended by the judging panel for his unfailing commitment and infectious enthusiasm.
Royal achievement
George was a founding member of the Solar Trade Association (now Solar Energy UK) and remained on the board for 20 years, working with Griff when he joined as a director in 2007.
He was influential in the founding of the Scottish Solar Energy Group (SSEG), Scottish Renewables, Solar Cities Scotland and SEDA Solar.
But without a doubt George’s most famous project was in 2015, when he personally convinced the Queen to install a solar thermal system on the Balmoral Estate!
Bright future
George remains a passionate advocate for solar power and its potential for the low-carbon future.
In his acceptance speech, he said: “The future of the UK solar and storage sector looks very bright to me. I look forward to everything else we accomplish in the years ahead and I will continue to make sure the energy revolution is a solar one.”
For information about GTEC’s range of renewable courses, including solar thermal, solar pv and battery storage, click here.