Everywhere under the sun

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Dr. Zhengrong Shi is the founder and CEO of Suntech Power, a worldwide leader in innovative solar energy solutions

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Look at this satellite image of our world at night. Massive veins of light shoot from urban centres and sprawl across the world’s wealthiest regions, creating vibrant grids of economic activity. Even though the countries are not colour-coded with the light pastels of a classroom political map, the two-tone satellite image tells a more important story about access – access to healthcare, access to capital, access to information, and particularly, access to power.

A global view of the Earth at night, compiled from over 400 satellite images | Photo: NASA

On the whole, bright lights correlate with prosperity founded on energy-intensive economic growth. The world’s three largest economic blocks, Western Europe, the United States, and Japan, outshine their neighbours in consistency and intensity, and similarly provide some of the world’s longest life expectancies. The bulk of Africa and central Asia remain shrouded in darkness. The contrast that divides an illuminated Republic of Korea from its northern neighbour along the 58th parallel starkly reflects the wealth and opportunity disparities between the two countries.

At the same time, industrialization has historically been accompanied by severe environmental costs, not least the costs of carbon. However, the impact of carbon-based energy production is not limited to global climate change. We shouldn’t forget localized environmental damage caused by the process of production of carbon-based electricity, such as the pollution of ground water and soil, or population displacement, or the health damage caused by concentrated ambient air particles in industrial centres.

This is the challenge of our generation. Billions of voices around the world demand greater access to energy, while many others wisely insist that we respect our one and only natural environment. Both goals are legitimate, and neither should yield.

The developmental challenges were no different in China, where Suntech Power was born nearly a decade ago. While China’s startling economic growth represents one of the great humanitarian achievements in human history, bringing hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in just a few decades, it has also brought environmental challenges. After receiving a Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia, I returned to my hometown of Yangzhong, an island that rests in the cradle of the Yangtze River, to find the lands of my youth suffering from the environmental side effects of industrialization.

The government of Wuxi, in Jiangsu Province, was eager to take a leadership role to create solutions that promoted equitable economic growth without ravaging our planet and its resources. Thus, with US$6 million in backing facilitated by the local government and local businesses, and with the support of like-minded friends and colleagues from the UNSW, I founded Suntech Power. With a combination of new and second-hand equipment, and a strong belief in our vision, we managed to put together a 10MW capacity solar production facility, which at the time was not insignificant.

Three years later, in December 2005, on the heels of booming global demand for solar products, Suntech Power became the first private China-based company to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Our meteoric growth was made possible, not only by start-up support in China, but by government incentives in the world’s wealthiest regions, including Germany, Japan, and California, USA. The international movement to find alternative energy sources gained momentum as governments recognized the need to diversify energy sources due to the scarcity of fossil fuels and the rising cost of extraction; to establish energy independence, to ensure consistent, long-term energy supply; and to find solutions to mitigate man-made global warming.

Against this backdrop, our ability to sustain growth at almost 100% a year until 2008, compete with established competitors, and become the largest producer of crystalline silicon solar panels, was essentially based on our commitment to innovation and quality. Since inception, we have steadily built what is now one of the world’s largest solar research teams, with over 350 R&D professionals based in China, Australia, Germany, and Japan. Furthermore, we have nurtured collaborative relationships with leading solar research institutions, such as the UNSW in Australia. This has enabled us to continually push the technology envelope, and repeatedly break records for high efficiency panels. In addition, our focus on minimizing production costs through semi-automated manufacturing processes and home-grown technology has allowed us to keep our promise of the highest quality products at a reasonable price.

As electricity from solar sources reaches grid parity with more carbon-based electricity sources in more markets, we are expecting to be part of an energy revolution that will support long-term sustainable growth in developing and developed markets around the world.

Installation of a Solar Home System in Tibet | Photo: Suntech Power

Solar power has a unique opportunity in undeveloped and developing regions, particularly those with over-burdened and/or limited electricity grids. Often, the price of running power lines to remote villages, communication towers, medical clinics, schools, or water pumps, far exceeds the price of installing solar power systems. In many markets it already costs more to fire-up a diesel generator than to install a clean and quiet solar power system with a similar power output. In the future, the delivery of electrical power will be characterized not only by centralized production and distribution, but also by the emergence of independent micro-grids powered by renewable energy technology.

Business opportunities are emerging for innovative and entrepreneurial companies to facilitate the adoption of solar power in emerging markets. One of the great added benefits of solar power is that 60-70% of solar jobs are generated in the end-use market. Such jobs are related to on-site solar power system design, the manufacturing of system components, project management, and system installation. By creating reliable access to nature’s cleanest and most abundant energy resource, Suntech is providing clean economic and development opportunities everywhere under the sun.

People often talk about the Earth’s delicate environment as a ‘non-linear system’ – in other words, one slight change, plus one slight change, could equal seven major changes. This is as true with our climate, as it is with social development. For example, you need roads to deliver medicine, you need medicine to remain healthy, you need to remain healthy to work, and you need to work if you want to build roads. If you remove any one support from this development structure, the entire system will crumble. This is why we should prioritize solutions that permanently eliminate risk variables, simplifying the equation for communities striving to achieve sustainable development and prosperity for their children.

In this sense, independent solar power systems are like vaccines against blackouts. They prevent those moments when you need to call a doctor but can’t charge your cell phone; or when you are teaching your child to read and the lights go out because your generator is out of gas; or when you have to slow down your manufacturing line because the grid can’t meet electricity demands during peak hours. Solar power systems provide decades of clean and reliable power, and are designed to perform without problems in the most extreme weather and environmental conditions. They don’t require refuelling or maintenance, and will perform as sure as the sun shines.

Irradiance map of the Earth showing average temperatures in April, 2003. The image was created by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) at an infrared wavelength that senses either the Earth’s surface or any intervening cloud | Photo: NASA/JPL

To better serve small, off-grid markets, Suntech Power recently launched an exciting product called the Solar Home System, a complete ‘entry-level’ package for reliable solar electricity generation. Each compact system includes a solar module (from 20Wp-120Wp output), a power storage and control device, as well as an AC electricity socket and energy-efficient light bulbs appropriate for the system’s specific power output. Most importantly, the Solar Home System can be easily transported in the back of a car or truck, installed by a layperson with just an Allen wrench, a screwdriver, and a pair of pliers, and operated through a single-button interface. We are proud to announce that the Government of Mongolia, backed by the World Bank, recently purchased 20,000 of our 50Wp Solar Home Systems, and each will provide enough electricity to power light bulbs or to charge cell phones. This is a fantastic example of a government that has taken leadership to promote rural electrification and drive long-term sustainable development.

If you look at an irradiance map of the Earth, it tells a hopeful story. The Sun shines on the rich and poor alike – it does not need a passport or visa, and it is not subject to ethnic conflict, broken infrastructure or political disputes. The vast majority of inhabited land mass is heavily endowed with solar energy. You may not be able to dig an oil well or coal mine in your backyard – or you may not want to – but you can probably harness the energy produced by the Sun.

As the urgency of our mission grows with global energy demands, I celebrate each and every morning knowing that the sun shines on us all. Suntech Power has already delivered nearly 1.8GW of solar capacity to more that 80 countries around the world. From megawatt-scale projects in Spain and Korea, to commercial installations in California and Germany, and off-grid installations in the Himalayas and the Middle East, Suntech is powering a future where everyone has reliable access to Nature’s cleanest and most abundant energy resource. This makes me extremely proud because I believe in the power of access.