Wicked Problems - Climate Tech Conversations

Who framed George Cove and kidnapped the solar future?

Dec 5, 2023

Dr. Sugandha Srivistav from Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment discusses the forgotten inventor George Cove who may have had a breakthrough in solar technology. They explore the possibility of Cove being kidnapped and how his disappearance impacted solar energy innovation. The podcast also delves into the impact of monopolies on innovation and the potential consequences of early solar dominance.

34:31

Creator website

Episode guests

Sugandha Srivistav

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

George Cove's invention of a solar panel and battery system with the potential to power a house for a week was hindered by a sinister kidnapping and subsequent suppression of his research.

If George Cove's solar innovation had not been suppressed, solar power could have become the cheapest source of electricity at least 20 years earlier, leading to reduced CO2 emissions and a different trajectory for the global energy system.

Deep dives

George Cove's Invention of Solar Panel and Battery System

George Cove claimed to have invented a solar panel and battery system that could power a house for a week. His invention, which harnessed the photovoltaic effect, garnered media attention in 1909, with hopes of affordable and accessible solar power for all. However, George Cove's journey took a sinister turn when he was reportedly kidnapped and forced to abandon his research. Despite skepticism about the details of the kidnapping, George Cove's status as an inventor and the merit of his invention cannot be disregarded.

Introduction

3min

The Invention of Solar Photovoltaics by George Cove

8min

The Wild West of American Capitalism and the Impact of Monopolies on Innovation

3min

The Disappearance of George Cove and the Hypothetical Scenario of Early Solar Dominance

16min

The Impact of Monopolies and Lobbying on Climate Innovation

2min

Exploring Climate Tech Research and Historical Context

3min

Welcome back to Wicked Problems. The climate tech show and newsletter that knows better than to mess with former president of Ireland Mary Robinson.

In this episode, Richard Delevan is joined by Dr. Sugandha Srivistav of the Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. Sugandha rediscovered the story of George Cove, a forgotten inventor who may have stumbled on a working photovoltaic cell - whose “sun-ray machine” gained the equivalent of tens of millions in investment dollars and worldwide media attention. In 1909, decades before Bell Labs in the 1950s started to pick up where he left off. Why have we never heard of him? It might have something to do with his claim that he was kidnapped and told he’d be released if he accepted a payoff and stopped his research. Two years later his company disappeared.

Wicked Problems is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Srivistav applied Wright’s Law to imagine what would have happened if Cove’s work had led to other innovations in solar PV - and reckons that solar would have become the cheapest source of electricity at least 20 years earlier.

How else could the world be different? Would we be having a climate crisis at all?

Read her October 2023 report: Lost potential: how the kidnapping of a solar energy pioneer impacted the cost of renewable energy and the climate crisis

And her article in The Conversation.

Sugandha’s Catalysts:

The History of the Standard Oil Company (1904), by Ida Tarbell

The Current War (2017), starring Benedict Cumberbatch

Titan, The Life of John D. Rockefeller (1998), by Ron Chernow

You can also find this episode on

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

YouTube

and anywhere you get podcasts.

Get in touch at news.wickedproblems.uk where you can also get our newsletter and consider getting a paid subscription to help support our work.

If you liked this conversation, consider sharing it with your favourite solar entrepreneur, before they get kidnapped.