
Chapter 7
The Story of SunPower
RichardM.Swanson
SunPower Corporation, San Jose, CA, USA
7.1 Introduction
The direct conversion of sunlight to electricity using solar cells has
had an interesting and colorful history. Today, the use of solar cells is
finally emerging as an important tool in man’s quest for new sources
of energy, particularly now that the negative environmental impact
of burning fossil fuel is becoming so apparent. It was not always so. I
began working on solar cells at the time of the first oil crisis in 1973.
You could say that I was part of the second generation of solar cell
researchers. The first generation had invented the practical