Why Blockchain-Enabled Solar Energy?

Access to clean, affordable energy is a global challenge, particularly in the Global South. Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize how we approach this issue, especially in the solar energy sector. In this post, we'll explore how blockchain can accelerate the transition to clean energy, with a focus on real-world impact.

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“The essence of cryptocurrency lies in transformation – a transformation of economies, societies and individuals' lives. At least that’s why many of us originally got into this space. As we navigate this pivotal moment in our industry, the path forward lies not in isolation or elitist gatekeeping but in integration especially with the Global South.”

— Azeem Khan, fundraising and partnerships lead, Gitcoin

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Illuminate

Can Blockchain Tools Empower a Just Transition to Clean Energy?

The UN Sustainable Development Goal #7 seeks to “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all,” yet the International Energy Agency (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2022 projects 660 million people still without access to electricity in 2030, with 85% living in sub-Sahara Africa. People without access to affordable, clean energy will continue to use polluting and unhealthy sources such as diesel and kerosene for cooking, heating, transport and lighting. In addition, energy poverty results in a lack of consistent access to information, communications and technology (ICT)  and has serious economic and social consequences.

“There is no pathway to net-zero emissions without first achieving universal access to electricity…not only is it a moral imperative, but renewables often provide the most cost-effective means for connecting people.”

— IEA World Energy Outlook 2022

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At The Solar Foundation, we believe blockchain tools can help accelerate a just transition to clean energy for all, especially those in underserved communities. Here are three ways we’re leveraging blockchain that we hope might also help other impact organizations:

1. Blockchain fosters global coordination and collaboration.
2. According to MercyCorps Ventures, 1.4 billion people in the world are currently unbanked and only 39% of adults in low-income countries have access to financial services; yet 1 billion of these unbanked adults do own a mobile phone. Crypto and web3 offer a lifeline for underserved people and can provide them with the upfront funds needed to install solar solutions, start a business and access the internet for education and employment opportunities as well as connections and partnerships with people around the world.
3. One example is our partner, Ayowecca Uganda, a Gitcoin grantee whose director mentioned in his grant proposal that his agroforestry NGO needed solar power to run its offices and secure its tree nursery. In addition to securing funding for this community founded grassroots organization, fellow Gitcoin grantees came together to start The Solar Foundation and our first project was funding solar lights for Ayowecca Uganda.
4. Blockchain’s transparency increases trust and accountability.
5. With approximately 600 million people in Africa who lack access to electricity, how do we know that our efforts and funds are actually impacting real lives?
6. Facilitating coordination with nonprofits around the world who share similar missions or need your solution is a vital first step, but the next issue is being able to deliver funds instantly and in a transparent manner to build trust with your funders, partners and the people counting on you. Blockchain’s transparency makes it possible to transfer crypto from one wallet to another directly, and to show that funds are reaching those who need them.
7. An example of the power of leveraging blockchain is our work with Helpers Social Development at their nursery and primary school in Nigeria. After sending funds to their foundation, we were amazed at the speed of the NGO’s action. A local solar company installed the solar panels and storage system quickly and within a month, the students and teachers were able to use the computer lab and take advantage of the many benefits provided by the new source of clean, reliable and stable power for their educational services.
8. “The Solar Foundation installation of solar power at Helpers Foundation Nursery and Primary School has given the school 24 hours of uninterrupted power supply, wherein students now learn at a faster pace unlike before. This donation has given the teachers a massive moral boost in teaching as well as enabling the environment to do their job. They can now charge their phones and also teach the students digital skills as well as basic computer training.”
9. — How the Solar System is Empowering [the] Education System in Nigeria, 9 July 2023
10. Blockchain mechanisms like Quadratic Funding, Impact Certificates and Retroactive Funding have the potential to revitalize the nonprofit model.
11. We can and must accelerate a just transition to renewables — especially for communities who contributed the least to climate change but suffer disproportionately from its effects, like rural communities in Africa. To this end, we believe that blockchain tools hold the potential to reinvigorate the non-profit model and fuel novel solutions to these massive problems.
12. For example, we envision, utilize and are working to pilot innovative, sustainable funding models like Quadratic Funding, Impact Certificates, Retroactive Funding to empower our foundation and our partner communities to access clean energy and have an ownership stake in the solar deployed. Eventually, we hope to develop an open-source model that helps scale our efforts and supports the work of other impact organizations.

There are many more complicated examples about how blockchain is being leveraged to solve global problems. For example, at The Solar Foundation, we’re working on a community solar plus UBI pilot to utilize blockchain to help close the gender digital divide.

What’s most important is to remember that the technology must always be in service to the solution. When used to advance public goods like clean energy, blockchain tech can help foster collaboration, acceleration and innovation for climate solutions that impact real lives.

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Enlighten

News & Fast Facts You Can Use

• Africa faces the effects of severe climate change more than most other parts of the world, despite contributing the least to the problem: With “nearly one-fifth of the world’s population today, Africa accounts for less than 3% of the world’s energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to date and has the lowest emissions per capita of any region.” Yet people in Africa are disproportionately experiencing the  effects of climate change, including drought, reduced agricultural production, increased extreme weather events and decreased economic growth – all of which are leading to mass migration and instability. — IEA Africa Energy Outlook 2022
• In the same way that some developing countries and communities leapfrogged landlines and went straight to mobile phones, it may be communities with no access to a power grid will benefit most from the emerging solar mini and microgrid technology. — The Independent: How tech could turn our homes into renewable power stations by Anthony Cuthbertson, 8 July 23