Solar scientist Dr Shi achieved his PhD in electrical engineering in Australia in 1992 and went on to found Suntech in 2001, manufacturing solar cells in Wuxi near Shanghai, in China.Dr Shi holds eleven patents in photovoltaic (PV) technologies such as thin film.

Prior to founding Suntech, he was a research director and Executive Director of Pacific Solar, an Australian PV company. He holds degrees in laser physics and optical science.

1. Where does your interest in clean energy stem from?

When I went to Australia, I researched solar thin film technologies and received a doctorate from the University of New South Wales. This experience made me realise the potential for solar to become a viable alternative to heavily polluting fossil fuels. Seeing the dramatic changes in the environment, both in China and around the world, over the past 20 years has also underlined the urgent necessity to develop clean energy solutions that can make this world more sustainable.

2. What top two steps does the industry need to take to be cost competitive with traditional energy generation?

The industry needs a market that will attract companies to develop technologies and solutions to solve the problem. Many governments around the world are moving in this direction with the introduction of solar subsidies and initiatives to put a price on carbon.

Secondly, the industry needs to continuously invest in technology development and rapid commercialisation of new technologies. Even during the eight years that Suntech has been operating, the solar industry has made huge strides in reducing cost through innovation. We are already cost competitive in some places today and believe that within the next two to five years, solar will become competitive with the retail cost of electricity in a huge portion of the global energy market. Large scale, cost competitive solar is already a reality.

3. What has been the greatest achievement of your industry in the past five years?

Reducing the cost to the point where we are competitive with traditional energy generation. Today, solar is competitive with the retail cost of electricity in Italy and Japan and with peak electricity costs in many high insulation markets such as California and southern Europe.

Secondly, gaining the recognition that clean energy really can provide a viable alternative is another major achievement of the industry. Governments the world over now realise that clean energy can be cost competitive and is essential in our fight to address climate change.

4. Where do you see the solar sector going in the short and long term?

In the short term, the solar sector is focused on cost reduction and implementing the mechanisms required in order for solar to seamlessly integrate into existing energy infrastructure. Longer term, the solar sector will become part of the mainstream energy industry and will be considered an important technology in any energy portfolio.

5. What are the top two government incentives/policy measures you would like to see implemented today? Why?

Clear commitments about the long term reduction of carbon emissions and renewable energy targets set the foundation for energy policy. Then, to stimulate the demand required to meet these targets. We believe that national feed-in tariffs, which guarantee the amount paid for solar energy and automatically adjust when cost-reduction targets are met, provide a very clear platform to support ongoing investment in solar energy companies and solar system development, while also minimising the financial impact on ratepayers.

6. What promising project/technology is Suntech currently developing or implementing?

We are currently implementing a very high efficiency technology into production that has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of solar. The Pluto technology produces about 12 per cent more power than conventional crystalline silicon solar panels, without increasing the production cost. Using this technology, we recently broke the world record for the highest conversion efficiency multi-crystalline silicon solar panel, and we plan to make more enhancements over the next few years to improve performance even further.

7. What one piece of advice would you give new entrants to the clean energy industry?

Develop a business model that is focused on the long term development of the industry, rather than on one that will capitalise on the short term market conditions.

The other advice I would give is that if you persevere, you will succeed. The clean energy industry has just started and I am confident it will be one of the most important industries of our generation and for many generations to come.