Using Bitcoin For Crowd Lending Solar Energy

There seems to be a certain overlap between Bitcoin and the renewable energy sector, even though it remains to be seen how these two industries will intersect in the future. The Sun Exchange, a crowd lending solar energy platform in South Africa, has started accepting Bitcoin payments in exchange for solar energy investment services. Quite an interesting proposal, but will it attract investors and customers?

Solar Energy Crowd Lending With Bitcoin

Although there are other companies around the world looking to bring the worlds of energy and digital currency together, The Sun Exchange is doing something rather unexpected. There is no denying solar energy is an area well worth exploring further to create future smart grids, but coupling this principle with crowd lending is something entirely different.

The primary goal of the Sun Exchange is to let people launch new solar energy projects by using the power of Bitcoin, a global, decentralized digital currency. Right now, the first campaign on the platform has gone live, which will – if successful – bring solar energy solutions to a school in South Africa. Keeping in mind how investors can pledge to this cause through either Bitcoin or fiat currency, this could be a fascinating project to keep an eye on.

So far, investments have been trickling in from all over the world, ranging from the UK to Canada and Australia. In return for investment in this solar energy project, there will be a 10% internal rate of return. All of the money raised during these campaigns will be converted to solar energy solutions, and the generated electricity will then be resold and used to pay out returns and dividends to investors.

The Sun Exchange Founder Abe Cambridge stated:

“Bitcoin has removed the friction and costs normally associated with international remittance. The efficiencies of Bitcoin means that we can make micro-payments in near real time as the electricity generated by the solar panel installation. This means that as long as the sun is shining, the investor can see their money working”

What is even more interesting is how The Sun Exchange acts as a peer-to-peer platform, rather than a middleman. Investors are met up with the people looking to gain access to solar energy, and even though the current projects focus on South Africa, there is plenty of room and opportunity for international expansion.

Source: Econotimes

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