Solar leader sees bright future
Zhengrong Shi, an engineer turned entrepreneur, has become one of China’s richest citizens by betting heavily on the future of solar power. In a talk on Tuesday at MIT, he outlined his vision for how he believes solar energy will, by the end of the century, produce more than two-thirds of the world’s electricity.Shi grew up in China but spent a decade in Australia pursuing his education and beginning his work in solar cell production. In 2000, he returned to his homeland and began setting up factories to take advantage of China’s low labor costs and other economy measures to produce solar panels at a lower cost than companies elsewhere could match. At the time, China had a negligible presence in the solar business, but now, thanks in large part to Shi’s pioneering work, it dominates the world’s solar industry.Shi’s company, Suntech, is the clear leader. Except for one year...