Suntech Power was founded in 2001 by Dr Zhengrong Shi who is widely recognised as a pioneer of solar module manufacturing and dubbed as the “sun king” as he became the world’s first solar billionaire in 2006. Since commencing operations in 2001, Suntech has manufactured over 24GW of photovoltaic modules which have been distributed to over 100 countries. They grew quickly to be the largest solar panel manufacturer in the world in 2011. Although they have encountered issues in recent years.
Suntech has developed a strong connection to the Australian market, with research and development projects being run at UNSW, ANU, and Monash University. These connections were enabled as founder and former CEO, Dr Shi obtained his doctorate degree of solar power technology at UNSW prior to founding Suntech.
In 2014 Suntech was acquired by Shunfeng International Clean Energy Limited, a renewable energy investment and independent power company. Suntech has received international recognition, being awarded Top PV Brand by the EuPD Research Institute. This is an illustrious award as EuPD is considered the solar industry’s leading research institute. Suntech has also received rewards from branches of the United Nations for its contribution to environmental protection.