AltEnToday

I’m going to start doing a lot more company spotlights in the near future. These will be simple summaries of the companies and people that are currently involved in the alternative energy industries.

Company Name

SunPower Corporation

Headquarters

3939 N. 1st Street, San Jose, CA 95134

Snapshot

SunPower Corporation is a publicly traded (NASDAQ: SPWR) company that specializes in the “…design, manufacture, and delivery of high-performance solar electric systems worldwide…” Most notably, they build the actual panels and PV cells which perform above-average comparatively. Interestingly enough, SunPower is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductors (NYSE: CY)

Click here to search Google News for recent SunPower news stories.

Noteworthy

I’ve already reported about SunPower partnering with Macy’s (as well as other major corporations) to build roof-mounted PV systems on to company buildings. Also worth noting is that SunPower claims to have developed a prototype solar cell that achieves 23.4% efficiency - which would be a major leap forward in terms of solar panel productivity.

Over the last year SunPower’s shares have run through a wild roller coaster, reaching as high as almost $160 per share, and sinking as low as under $60 per share. This volatility is likely a result of over-generous speculation during the driving oil price climate, tempered by the reality that even though this is a major company, they can’t simply create new projects without a stable market place. United States and international subsidies and tax laws for solar energy projects can have a huge effect on the marketability of SunPower’s products - although their products are close to grid parity as it stands right now.

Click here to search SunPower’s career opportunities.

Leadership

CEO Thomas H. Werner - Mr. Werner has led SunPower since 2003. His background includes CEO of Silicon Light Machines, an optical subsidiary (again) of Cypress Semiconductor.

CFO Emmanuel T. Hernandez - Mr. Hernandez has been the CFO of SunPower since 2005. He also has an 11 year background with Cypress Semiconductor, where he was an Executive Vice President.

Vice President, Corporate Strategy Peter Aschenbrenner - Mr. Aschenbrenner has been with SunPower since 2003, but comes with a background of over 25 years in the solar industry, including work for Seimens, and ARCO Solar. He graduated from Stanford with a BA in product design.