Dan Shugar

Dan Shugar is an American business executive and renewable energy pioneer. He is the co-founder and CEO of Nextpower (formerly Nextracker)

Early life and education Shugar grew up in New Jersey. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. He later received an MBA from Golden Gate University.

Career Shugar began his career in the late 1980s in the research and development department at Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

In 1996, Shugar joined Tom Dinwoodie, who invented a lightweight solar roof system, as co-founder of PowerLight Corporation.

Shugar and Dinwoodie worked together on existing intellectual property to commercialize single-axis solar trackers and received certification for their use in the U.S. and Europe.

In 2007, SunPower Corp. purchased PowerLight for $332 million. Shugar was later named president of SunPower.

In 2010, Shugar became CEO of a solar panel startup named Solaria. The following year, the company was spun off from Solaria after which Shugar became its CEO.

After Covid, Shugar led efforts to reshore solar tracker manufacturing to the U.S. following disruption of global supply chains. In December 2024, the company shipped the first U.S.-manufactured solar trackers with 100% domestic content.

Under Shugar, the company made its debut on the Nasdaq Global Select Market in 2023. As of March 31, 2024, the company had shipped solar tracking systems for more than 100 gigawatts (GW) of capacity to 40 countries across six continents.

After orchestrating multiple acquisitions and expansions, Shugar led the company in rebranding as Nextpower on November 12, 2025, reflecting its transformation from a leader in solar tracking to a global supplier of fully integrated energy technology solutions for utility-scale and distributed generation solar power plants.

Awards and recognition 2023 S&P Platts Global Energy Awards – Shugar received the Chief Trailblazer of the Year award for energy industry leadership and innovation. 2023 Hoyt Clarke Hottel Award – he received this annual award from the American Solar Energy Society for his contributions to the energy sector.