Selling the Sun

ISSUE: Spring 2009, feature stories | February 27, 2009

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The Rockies tower over a vast solar farm near Alamosa, Colorado. Zinn Photography/Courtesy of SunEdison

Jigar Shah founded SunEdison in 2003 and in six years turned his tiny start-up into the largest provider of solar power in the United States. Photograph for OnEarth by David Deal

SunEdison's Alamosa facility has sun-tracking panels that can be 40 percent more efficient than fixed panels. Zinn Photography/Courtesy of SunEdison

Sun-tracking panels can be 40 percent more efficient than fixed panels, such as those on the roof of this San Diego water treatment plant. Ace Aerial Photography/Courtesy of SunEdison

In 2007, when SunEdison built this solar array on the roof of Staples' Killingly, Connecticut, distribution center, it was New England's largest -- the size of 1.5 football fields. On Location Aerial/Courtesy of SunEdison

If a coal-fired power plant or nuclear reactor goes kablooie, the facility may be out of commission for months. Most problems in solar plants "can be fixed in an afternoon," Jigar Shah says. "They are up and running 99 percent of the time." David Deal