Samuel Nash Sprunt

Sam Sprunt was Chairman and CEO of Tideland Signal Coporation, founded in Houston in 1954. The company made and sold marine lanterns, buoys, foghorns and radar beacons to mark shipping lanes, ports and offshore oil platforms.

Tideland developed early solar systems for these navigation devices that were designed to operate well despite corrosive salt spray, bird guano, abrasive sand storms, and hurricane-force winds and waves. Tidelands’ SolaViva MG-600, introduced in 1972, is one early and innovative module that encased solar cells within cast borosilicate glass, sealed with silicone adhesive, and using naval brass terminals.

Tideland played a critical role in the advance of commercial solar power. The firm provided a steady cash flow to early PV manufacturers, made important progress in solid-state reliability, and pioneered off-grid battery systems to support solar power under clouds and at night. In each of these ways, Sprunt and the Tidelands firm helped make solar power a more cost-effective, reliable technology.