SunPower Turns Sunshine Into Dollars

Company's efficient cells keep its solar prospects bright

By Liz Wolgemuth

Posted: July 9, 2008

Installing SunPower solar panels on a new house in Atlanta's Buckhead section.

Installing SunPower solar panels on a new house in Atlanta's Buckhead section.

The SunPower CEO thinks incentives will be necessary for another three to eight years, when solar would ideally reach cost parity with traditional grid electricity. Ask Werner if the uncertainty about government subsidies makes him nervous and he responds: "Did you ever see the movie Jurassic Park?" He's thinking of Jeff Goldblum's character, hanging off the back of a jeep as dinosaurs nip at his heels: "Must go faster," Werner says. "You've got to get costs down faster.... You have to innovate fast—you have to deliver your end of the deal."

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