China Sunergy Co., Ltd., a specialised solar cell and module manufacturer, today announced the opening of its US headquarters China Sunergy (US) Clean Tech Inc. in San Francisco, California.
San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee, Tingxiu Lu, chairman of China Sunergy, and Stephen Cai, chief executive officer of China Sunergy, officially opened the new headquarters office at an opening ceremony and reception on 14 July 2011.
China Sunergy’s US operations will be managed by a newly appointed US chief executive officer, Willis He, who will be based in San Francisco. He has more than 13 years studying and working experience in the US and comes to this position from MEMC Electronic Materials, a publicly listed manufacturer and seller of wafers to the solar and semiconductor industries. As a solar sales director, He worked closely with many solar cell and module companies to develop and expand MEMC’s China business. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Although later to develop than Europe, solar markets in the US are entering a period of rapid growth due to strong consumer demand for green energy and more financial incentives from federal and state governments and utility companies. The year 2010 saw installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the US increase by more than 100%. Of that total, 28% occurred in the state of California, according to a report released in June 2011 by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC).
