Gao Jifan: Making billions from solar
Who is Gao Jifan?
Gao Jifan is a founder, chairman, and CEO of the solar energy company Trina Solar.
Gao Jifan’s financial successes are not comparable to his achievements in clean energy for both China and the world.
Jifan’s net worth is over 6 billion dollars after privatizing Trina Solar in 2017. Trina Star began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 2006 and subsequently on China’s STAR market in 2020.
What is Gao Jifan’s educational background?
Gao Jifan is also a scientist. He earned his Bachelor’s in science in Chemistry from Nanjing University. He then earned a Master’s of Physical Chemistry from Jilin University ten years later.
His research in photovoltaic energy led to the development of Trina Solar. That led to subsequent financial and smart energy success.
What is Trina Star?
Gao founded Trina Solar in 1997, the same year he earned his Master’s in Physical Chemistry. Trina Solar’s headquarters are in Changzhou, China. Trina Solar is a multifaceted country encompassing research and development, sales of smart grids, and multi-energy complementary systems.
The company has raised hundreds millions for further research and photovoltaic power stations around China.
What are photovoltaic modules and smart energy solutions?
Photovoltaics is a formal term for solar energy or the practice of converting the sun’s light into electricity.
Solar Energy is considered as a Smart Energy Solution because it reduces carbon dioxide emissions slowing change in climate.
It also mitigates China’s (and the world’s) reliance on fossil fuels to generate electricity. Sunlight is a renewable energy, unlike fossil fuels.
What are Gao Jifan’s current business and leadership positions?
Gao Jifan’s success with solar energy has garnered him celebrity recognition in and out of China.
Aside from heading Trina Solar, Jifan chairs numerous national and international boards. These include the China Photovoltaic Industry Association and the Global Solar Council.