SunPower Celebrates 30 Years as a Solar Industry Leader
Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR), the global solar technology and energy services company founded with a mission to develop the industry’s most efficient solar cells. Three decades later, SunPower not only produces the highest efficiency solar cells and panels on the market, but also offers complete solar energy solutions to residential, commercial and utility customers around the world. To date, SunPower systems installed globally have generated more than 25 million megawatt-hours of solar electricity combined, producing enough energy to power 2.4 million homes for one year, according to estimates provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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“When I started SunPower with a handful of colleagues 30 years ago, most people did not believe solar power could be a realistic replacement for fossil fuel-generated electricity. Yet today solar is cost-effective, reliable, and in strong demand – and I’m proud of the role SunPower has played to drive that dramatic transformation,” said SunPower Founder Dr. Richard Swanson, a former professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University. “With 7,000 employees, SunPower is innovating relentlessly to ensure that solar is an easily accessible option for residential, commercial and utility customers worldwide.”
Silicon Valley-based SunPower has celebrated a number of major achievements throughout its history, some of which recently include:
- Collaborating with the world’s most well-respected brands such as Apple, which is investing in 130 megawatts of SunPower systems at eight locations in the U.S. and China
- Installing 98 megawatts of solar that are powering 60 school districts in the U.S. and higher learning institutions like Stanford, where solar power will meet more than half of the university’s total electricity needs
- Producing the only solar panels in the world to be Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Silver – manufactured in Mexicali, Mexico – reflecting the company’s holistic approach to sustainability
- Securing more than 300 patents, with several receiving the U.S Patent and Trademark Office’s Patents for Humanity award, which recognizes the use of patented technology for social good
- Constructing the world’s largest solar photovoltaic power plant, the 579-megawatt Solar Star Projects in Southern California, with expected completion in 2015
- Delivering one of the world’s largest merchant solar power plants with co-developer and majority owner Total, which is selling unsubsidized renewable electricity on the spot market in Chile
“SunPower is applying our years of experience to continue innovating for the future, giving customers choice and empowering them to take more control of their energy costs,” said Tom Werner, SunPower president and CEO. “We’re proud of our evolution from a solar cell company in an unknown sector to a global industry leader, providing proven energy services and solutions.”
Always looking ahead, SunPower is evolving its business to offer Smart Energy solutions that allow end customers to customize their solar electricity production and consumption profiles through new technologies like battery storage and energy management. The company is also working with utilities to integrate solar and these new technologies to build a stronger, more resilient grid infrastructure.
