It is with great sadness that the Rainbow Power family shares the news of the passing of our founder, Peter ‘Pedals’ van der Wyk.
Pete was a true pioneer of the renewable energy industry.
Author of the seminal work on home made energy systems, Energy From Nature, his passion for renewable energy was a constant part of his life.
From his pedal-powered juicer, which saw him feature on ‘That’s Incredible’ in the early ’80s to the foundation of his ‘dream child’ with two mates in the late ’80s.
That dream child was Rainbow Power Company. Long before the Clean Energy Council, Peter helped produce the first off-grid solar accreditation, that gave many titans of the industry their first taste of renewable energy.
Even after retiring, he continued to pursue his passion, coming into Rainbow at least once a week to gather components for his latest project.
He will be missed by all of the RPC family.
♦ Pete’s obit supplied by Max Pike from Rainbow Power Company.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
