Pacific Solar Pty Limited was formed in 1995 as a cooperative venture between the University of New South Wales and Pacific Power, the state's electric utility company. The goal was to commercialise a cost-effective technology for conversion of sunlight into electricity using the photovoltaic (PV) effect. The PV technology, now known as Crystalline Silicon on Glass (CSG), was conceived at UNSW by Professors Martin Green and Stuart Wenham with graduate student Zhengrong Shi. Funding for the first five years of Pacific Solar was provided entirely by Pacific Power. The company was established in suburban Sydney, Australia.
In the year 2000, additional funding was provided by Eurosolare SpA, the solar division of Italian company ENI, and in 2003 a final round of funding was provided by the State Government of New South Wales. By this time, Pacific Power's share of Pacific Solar had been transferred to RBMC, a subsidiary of the State Government of New South Wales.
In June 2004, Pacific Solar sold its physical assets and worldwide rights relating to the CSG technology to a new German company, CSG Solar AG, which was formed with financial backing from a consortium of European investors. CSG Solar AG formed an Australian subsidiary, CSG Solar Pty Limited, which continues to operate the pilot-line facility built in Sydney by Pacific Solar. When CSG Solar begins producing PV panels commercially, a portion of the sales revenue will be returned to Pacific Solar in the form of royalties and dividends.