The sun king

摘要

If, as greens suggest, the 21st century becomes the solar century, we will have Ishaq Shahryar to thank. Thirty years ago, as a young emigre from Afghanistan in the US, he virtually invented solar power as a serious energy source. He helped develop it for space satellites, slashed costs a hundredfold and then, in a bid to bring it to the people, he designed the first solar-powered Ferris wheel and brought solar panels to motorway call boxes and billboards. Now events back home lure him. He played a key role in setting up the interim government in Afghanistan late last year. But he refused cabinet posts, wanting the freedom to pursue his latest dream―reinventing Afghan villages as solar-powered, Internet-connected powerhouses for the modernisation of one of the least industrialised countries on Earth. Now, as he tells Fred Pearce, he has been nominated as Afghanistan's top ambassador―to the United States.