Frank Asbeck founded SolarWorld, a company that manufactures solar cells and modules which are then installed as solar panels, in 1998. Asbeck has proven to be an innovative leader for this family-owned German company, taking an aggressive entrepreneurial approach that many predict will help the company grow by 25% each year. SolarWorld is at an advantageous position right now, since the manufacture of solar cells will likely be somewhat of a bottleneck in the solar power industry and his company will be able to step in and meet much of that demand.

Asbeck, worth an estimated $1.6 billion, said in a 2007 press release, “Solar energy is on the way to attaining full competitiveness with grid power in the next few years. This means that a major factor for a climate-friendly turning of the tide in the energy sector would be achieved. Yet, in order to actually achieve this ‘grid parity’, the solar industry must continue to invest in the expansion of its capacities and also earn these investments. Because only mass production and efficiency improvements can make prices drop further.”

Tomorrow: #3- Peng Xiaofeng, LDK Solar