A Salute to Walt Ratterman

By Stephen Lacey, Podcast Editor
March 18, 2010 | 8 Comments

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Colorado, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] Last month, solar humanitarian Walt Ratterman's body was found in the rubble of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He had been installing solar systems on remote medical clinics around the country.

Many of his friends in the solar industry call Ratterman a “solar hero,” for his tireless work spreading clean, renewable energy to impoverished communities around the world. After starting a successful electrical contracting business, Ratterman decided not to stay comfortable. Instead, he co-founded SunEnergy Power International and traveled the globe installing solar.

Ratterman's work has been recognized in the film, “Beyond the Call,” a documentary on modern humanitarian work.

In this week's podcast, we feature a re-broadcast of a story that KDNK's Conrad Wilson produced about Ratterman's life and impact on the solar industry.

Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.

Solar Energy

8 Reader Comments

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1 of 8

niff218

March 18, 2010

Beautifully done Stephen..thank you for sharing this inspiring man's life with us.

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CambioEnergy

March 18, 2010

Great feature, we need more humanitarians like Walt. Very impressive.

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inrewtern

March 18, 2010

Very great. (: Well done. That's such a shame, but, I'm sure many are inspired now after hearing about him!

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CCRES

March 19, 2010

THANK YOU WALT RATTERMAN,
We love you,
SOLAR serdar Team

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SamGarber

March 19, 2010

Thanks for putting that together Stephen. I'm sorry that Walt's time ended that way, he truly represents outstanding acheivement. Condolences to Walt's family and friends.

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charlene-langland-31983

March 19, 2010

The world needs more Walt Rattermans. He was a powerful example of how solar can transform lives. May his example serve to inspire others to try to help fill the void he left behind.

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NJ-Solar-Man

March 22, 2010

Stephen and Conrad,

Thank you for this salute to Walt and condolences to his family. I only knew Walt via telephone but we had spoken many times about his work all over the world. Hopefully others will be inspired by this tribute to carry it on.

He was a shining example for all of us.

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malebo

March 25, 2010

Wish Ntate Walt would be here in Lesotho for the phase2 power for our clinics, but he had left his knowledge here and his legacy moves on.He helped me be able to deal with challenges that we had with phase1, now I am able to do lots of things on my own for phase2. I thank him deeply from the bottom of my heart. Love you Sir.

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Stephen Lacey

About: I am a reporter with ClimateProgress.org, a blog published by the Center for American Progress. I am former editor and producer for RenewableEnergyWorld.com, wh... more »