Portable powerhouse

WorldWater and Solar TechnologiesWith drinkable water drying up worldwide, and green energy becoming front page news, one company has been quietly refining a solution for nearly two decades. Kate Sawyer reports. Solar energy is making headlines, as global warming and other environmental threats become more prominent. From Angola to East Africa, Pakistan to the Philippines, WorldWater & Solar Technologies, Corp. continues to fulfill its mission of providing clean water and reliable energy solutions to developing nations and companies at home. ÔÇ£WorldWater is at a critical juncture in its corporate history,ÔÇØ said Dr. Frank W. Smith, newly appointed CEO. ÔÇ£The solar business is growing at an accelerating pace, as demand for clean energy continues to increase throughout the globe. In this expanding market, we are well positioned to take advantage of numerous growth opportunities. We now need to execute to plan and improve our financial resultsÔÇöwhich we clearly intend to do. I have never been more excited about an opportunity than I am about implementing WorldWaterÔÇÖs growth strategy and building its business both in the US and internationally.ÔÇØIn 1984, Quentin T. Kelly began a consulting and R&D firm to assist in providing water and power to developing nations. His fledgling company first worked on behalf of farmers in rural areas of Africa, South Asia, South America, and the Caribbean without access to clean water and reliable power sources. But experience soon taught him that the need for energy solutions was greater than the consulting firm could satisfy. Kelly then worked with a team of Princeton University engineers to develop the companyÔÇÖs first product, a solar thermal power system, which was patented in 1992. By 1997, the company was growing strong and became public. Headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey, WorldWater today has annual revenues of $11 millionÔÇöwith projected market opportunity of $10.6 billion. It is a full-service, international solar electric engineering and water management company with unique, high-powered and patented solar technology. Its solar pumping systems are operating in more than 20 countries worldwide, and the company works directly with foreign governments as well as US governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations to develop and maintain support for its innovative initiatives.In addition, WorldWater has full-service water engineering and water management capabilities. It advises government and industry on all phases of the water cycle from locating sources to pumping, purifying, desalinating, storing, and recycling.Its products can not only generate and distribute electricity but can drive 1,000-horsepower motors and pumps from sunshine independently or in conjunction with the electric gridÔÇöproviding solutions to a broad spectrum of the worldÔÇÖs electricity and water supply problems.One such is its famed AquaMax solution, which can save farmers money for irrigation as well as solve emergency power demands during daylight blackouts. Its proprietary inversion switching technology makes the product invaluable because in the case of a blackout, the system will automatically switch to solar power, with no interruption in service and no need for manual intervention. Its impact on developing nations where reliable power sources are scarce is nothing short of miraculous.In 2001, WorldWater received a second patent for its most significant technological breakthrough to date, which has improved the industryÔÇÖs rate of production for solar pumping capability from 5 to up to 600 horsepower. This advancement has allowed its solar systems to have a sharp increase in power capability and even operate industrial-sized pumps and motors in the US agricultural, water utility, viticulture, and manufacturing sectors. AquaMax is in great demand in California and New Jersey, where state incentives for solar energy are strong.ÔÇ£For 16 years since it was founded, the mission of WorldWater Corp. has been to alleviate the difficult conditions under which many people live in developing countries, with the most pressing needs generally being the availability of water and electricity,ÔÇØ said Kelly, who stepped down in March from the position of CEO to become non-executive chairman.ÔÇ£Successful projects such as those provided by WorldWater Corp. immeasurably improve the lives of citizens in these countries and strengthen the infrastructure of the nation itself. These projects also are beneficial to our shareholders because of the significant privatization efforts by the government to switch to private sector companies such as WorldWater.ÔÇØ┬á