The SunEdison Origin Story

<p>In the early 2000s, investors weren't very interested in&nbsp;SunEdison's business plan to finance solar with power purchase agreements.</p><p>"No one wanted to hear about physical infrastructure," said Jigar Shah, who drafted the business plan and co-founded the company.</p><p>It took until 2006 to raise venture capital. But soon after,&nbsp;PPA customers started rolling in: Staples, Ikea, then Whole Foods.</p><p>"It was an idea who's time had come," said Shah. The PPA is now the backbone of solar.</p><p>In this week's edition of the live podcast series&nbsp;<a href="https://powerhouse.solar/wattittakesepisodes" target="_blank"><em>Watt It Takes</em></a>, Shah sits down with Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch to discuss his career in solar -- from Astropower to the Department of Energy to BP Solar and, eventually, to founding (and leaving) SunEdison.</p><p>Jigar talks about why he left SunEdison, why he thinks Goldman Sachs was a terrible board member, and why&nbsp;cleantech&nbsp;entrepreneurs are taking really dumb money.</p><p><em>Watt It Takes</em>&nbsp;is&nbsp;a live interview series&nbsp;produced by&nbsp;<a href="https://powerhouse.fund/events/" target="_blank">Powerhouse</a>&nbsp;in partnership with GTM.&nbsp;The conversation was recorded live in Oakland, California.</p><p><em>This podcast&nbsp;is brought to you by CPower Energy Management.&nbsp;</em><a href="https://cpowerenergymanagement.com/what-we-do/#utm_source=Advertising&amp;utm_medium=GTM&amp;utm_campaign=Marketing_GTM_EnergyGangSponsor_Q12018&amp;utm_content=EnergyGang" target="_blank"><em>Find out more</em></a><em>&nbsp;about CPower's demand-side energy management solutions.</em></p><p>Listen to our other episodes of Watt It Takes:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/nancy-pfunds-pro-tips-for-getting-started-in-cleantech#gs.GFQoEho" target="_blank">Nancy Pfund’s Pro Tips for Getting Started in Cleantech</a></li><li><a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/sunpower-founder-dick-swansons-guide-to-launc