Shi Zhengrong is the new kid on the block reaping billions by exploiting solar energy as photovoltaics.

Not unlike Henry Ford, Rockfeller, Rothschild or Bill Gates, his is also a rags to riches story that came out of his innovative vision backed by a breakthrough products that was conceieved much ahead of their times. They all could crystal gaze into the impact their products would have on the world around them.

Dr. Shi is an Australian citizen and Chinese-trained scientist who says he got into solar power by chance. Shi estimates that the solar energy industry could be worth $50 billion by 2010.

Shi, 44, is the chief executive of Suntech Power Holdings, one of the new breed of successful domestic China-based companies with global ambitions. After spending a year at Sydney-based University of New South Wales' renewable energy center in 1988, Shi found himself at a company formed to commercialize the ideas of fellow researchers. The government of Wuxi, a city on Shanghai's outskirts promoted Shi’s suntech with an initial investment of US$ 6 million equivalent. There was no looking back. Shi bought out his backers and listed his $225 million company on the NYSE in 2005 where the company's market cap soared to $5.5 billion. His worth today hovers around US$2 billion. Suntech, which started with 20 workers, remains headquartered in Wuxi, but now occupies four sites with a total workforce of 3,500. The company's photovoltaic systems are used in a wide range of applications, including communications and broadcasting, transportation, housing and military.

Currently under construction in Wuxi is a giant energy wall, a curtain of solar cells integrated into the city's airport. It's a magnum opus  advertisement for the technology of Suntech.