SolarCoin

Overview of SolarCoin

SolarCoin is a member of, among others:
-The UN Sponsored Climate Chain Coalition and has presented at CCC-UN COP22 in Marrakech and recently COP25 in Madrid,
-SolarPowerEurope, the European Solar Association based in Brussels,
-The UK Solar Trade Association,
-IRENA´s Coalition for Action on Climate Change
-…

SolarCoin has ongoing projects with the UNDP and has been recognized by IRENA as a reward for solar power producers worldwide.

SolarCoin is a Digital Asset impacting and benefiting the entire Solar Industry Value Chain: ie Solar Manufacturers, Asset Managers, PV Owners, Inverter/Monitoring Companies, EPC's/O&M, Utilities, Governments, NGOs & central banks, allowing for uptake of Solar Power at a Global Scale, and thereby initiating and supporting the Global Energy Transition.

SolarCoin (SLR) is a Digital Asset created as a means to rewarding solar energy generation.  As an affiliate we apply for SolarCoins on behalf of our customers.  To date we have processed claims of over 65MW of solar from Europe and the UK.

SolarCoin is based on Bitcoin technology, but in addition to the usual way of generating coins through mining, crunching numbers to try and solve a cryptographic puzzle, people can earn them as a reward for generating solar energy.

SolarCoin Foundation spokesman Nick Gogerty says the initiative is aiming for $20 to $30 per SolarCoin, effectively providing solar panel owners with a crowdfunded feed-in tariff and encouraging more people to take part.

SolarCoin adoption will provide digital tokens to ACWA Power for every MWh of solar energy produced and will provide a supplementary means of payment for goods and services than conventional currency.

Solarcoin has remained a small low ranking coin, I feel it has lots of potential over time, a kind of small growth over the next 5 years as cryptos and solar energy gains more traction.

SolarCoin’s first partnership is with SMA Inverters, a German company with a website called Sunny Portal, the largest solar installation monitoring platform in the world.

SolarCoin could spur a global market for renewable energy investment, said Paul Herman, chief executive of impact investment firm HIP Investor.

SolarCoin runs its own Blockchain, a low-cost low-carbon POSt (Proof of Stake-time) technology since 2015 with 100% uptime and zero% hacking.

Blockchain

“We are excited to working together with SMAP Energy on leading blockchain solutions with the SolarCoin Digital Asset and look forward to burgeoning collaboration at multiple level for both the Japanese solar industry as well as utilities active in the region.SMAP Energy enters the Digital Assets space at a very exciting moment,” Francois Sonnet, co-founder of Solarcoin affiliate ElectricChain and advisor to the Solarcoin Foundation.

Mine

Bitcoin has been accused of wasting energy in the past because of the computing power it takes to mine coins, but Gogerty says that SolarCoin is 50 times more energy-efficient because its algorithm allows the total number of coins to be mined faster – and that’s before factoring in the energy boost from new solar panels.

Network

In September 2016 SolarCoin partnered with Cloud Constellation, a space-based data storage company scheduled to launch a network of data storage satellites to provide high-speed global cloud storage satellites as a space-based data center designed for the secure transfer and storage of sensitive information.Satellite deployment has been scheduled for 2018.The organization will store its blockchain vault on the satellites for space-based deep cold storage concurrent with live transactions, making it the “first orbital currency.” In September 2017 Cloud Constellation entered into an agreement with Virgin Orbit through its LauncherOne program to deploy twelve of its cloud constellation satellites to low-Earth orbit.

Support

“We’re excited about the added benefits that SolarCoin can bring to our future FlexiGrid members,” said Mark Hamilton, CEO at Solo Energy, “We’re already bringing the benefits of participating in Demand Side Response to homes and businesses, but by supporting our users to access SolarCoin, we’re also helping to secure the future of solar generation.”

Transactions

As the price of solar coins appreciate, through more users agreeing to accept SolarCoin for value representation and transactions, claiming SolarCoins can become an additional and relevant revenue stream for solar power producers, resulting in an incentive for solar energy investors to install more generation capacity. 

Solar Purchasing Options Got You Confused?

Climate change, social responsibility, tax advantages, saving money—the reasons for going solar are as varied as the homes, families, and lifestyles of today’s solar shoppers….

Does the creation of SolarCoins use a lot of energy?

If users decide to use SolarCoins as a means of payment, they are making a conscious effort to prioritize environmental protection as the basis of their business activities.The SolarCoin blockchain uses an energy-efficient, proof-of-stake algorithm, which consumes 0.001% of the energy required by Bitcoin.

What is the Carbon Footprint of a Bitcoin?

Figures suggest that mining a bitcoin is equivalent to burning around 16 gallons of gasoline.

What is SolarCoin and does it matter to the UK Solar Industry?

You may have recently heard about SolarCoin (§), although it has been around since 2014, the currency started to hit the energy headlines with ACWA Power becoming the first utility PV developer to begin to use SolarCoin[1].At NDE we heard about the currency a few days ago, discussed at a Solar Trade Association meeting.

How can SolarCoins be used?

SolarCoins can be traded for conventional (fiat) currency on all major exchange portals (Bittrex/Lykke, etc.).SolarCoins are an increasingly liquid valuable that can be paid out and tracked transparently.They are kept in digital wallets, can be managed on computers or mobile devices and can even be stored offline in paper form (paper wallet).The SolarCoin community is constantly evaluating use cases and business models for SolarCoin users.

What is SolarCoin?

SolarCoin [SLR] is a lite version of Bitcoin using a proof-of-time algorithm (vericoin).

How many SolarCoins can I expect to receive annually?

SolarCoin grants are made at the rate of 15% of the nominal installation Capacity.The annual calculation is 365 days X 24 hrs X 15% X Your KW Capacity/1000.This works out to 1.314 X your installed KW Insalled Capacity.

How can SolarCoins be claimed through Sunny Portal?

Through Sunny Portal it’s incredibly easy to claim your SolarCoins because you don’t need to submit all the documentation typically required for registration to provide evidence of the PV system’s ownership status, technical data, power generation capacity and identity.If you have one or more PV systems with a system capacity of up to 150 kWp registered in Sunny Portal and want to claim SolarCoins, just log in to www.sunnyportal.com/en with your e-mail address and password.To register your PV system for the SolarCoin program, you need admin rights for your system.If you don’t have them yet, please ask your installer.Once you are logged-in, open “PV system properties” in the “configuration” part of the menu on the left side of your screen.To ensure the Foundation can perform data matching, please provide your complete system data.In some countries, the field “Country code” is somewhat confusing.It must also be filled in, so please enter for example the state, your district, department or country.

What is SolarCoin?

SolarCoin, a blockchain-based crypto currency, was developed with a view to accelerating the energy transition.Like the networks for other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, the SolarCoin network is global and decentralized.In this case, however, the payout of SolarCoins is linked to a meaningful, cost-effective and environmentally friendly incentive: the generation of solar power.

How much is a SolarCoin worth?

Like all currencies, SolarCoin’s value can rise and fall by the millisecond.Its value will always depend on several factors, including supply and demand, trading volume, the paper currency equivalent, and other technical but verifiable factors.

Is SolarCoin a legit investment?

Like most currencies (and the highly volatile cryptocurrency market), the value of the solar increases or falls by the millisecond.Its value is always dependent on the demand, supply, paper equivalent, trading volume or other verifiable factors.Be mindful that SolarCoin does have its bouts of supreme volatility, such is the game with crypto investing.So be wise and only gamble… invest what you can afford to lose.

How does SolarCoin work?

Mining of the SolarCoin is done in every MWh of renewable solar energy produced.If a typical solar system creates about 10MWh, then it would mine 10 SolarCoins.Therefore, if the production plant is large and provides more enormous amounts of solar energy, it will yield a faster production of the SolarCoin.

What is SolarCoin?

According to its website, “SolarCoin is an alternative digital currency that works like air-miles for Solar electricity generation.” It is an easily adopted incentive for more people to go solar.

Cell phones and tumors, is there a connection?

Let’s start with the definitions, radiofrequency refers to electromagnetic waves…

Should I Buy My Solar Panels?

You are already aware of all of the reasons why you should go solar, so the next question is how do you pay for it?…

How do I “mine” a SolarCoin?

A SolarCoin is mined for every megawatt-hour (MWh) of solar energy produced by a solar system.A typical Southern California 5.5 KW solar system produces around 8 MWh, so this sample system would mine 8 SolarCoins once a year.Obviously, the larger the solar system and the more sunlight available in the region, the faster that SolarCoins are generated for the owner.

Is Bitcoin Mining Sucking the Energy Market Dry?

  Bitcoin has crossed a threshold.The value of a single bitcoin peaked at $20,000 in December 2017, putting dollar signs in tech-savvy eyes around…

Want to stay up to date?

Get the most relevant articles in our free SUN Newsletters.

What is SolarCoin?

SolarCoin is essentially another cryptocurrency, the most famous cryptocurrency is the one which started it all, Bitcoin.Without going into too much detail, a cryptocurrency is a type of electronic currency which uses cryptography to secure its transactions.All transactions are recorded via a distributed ledger, the blockchain, a VERY big tamper proof database decentralised over many computers across the world.In order to receive SolarCoins, like any other cryptocurrency, you use a wallet, this is a secure personal database where you keep the address of your coins on the currency’s blockchain, and your personal keys to these coins.You can either download a program to keep a wallet on your computer, or use an online service.After this you can then register your photovoltaic system with solarcoin.org, who validate applications at the beginning of each month.You receive SolarCoins for every MWh of electricity generated.In terms of systems smaller than 100kW, this is a deemed production (365 days * 24 hrs * 15% * Your kWp Nameplate Capacity/1000).This works out to 1.314 * your installed kWp nameplate capacity = §1.Larger systems require a form of metering that can be validated.The initial SolarCoin grant is retroactive to the install date of your facility or Jan 1, 2010; whichever is more recent.Whilst there have been concerns over the use of energy by Bitcoin, SolarCoin uses a much lower amount of energy as it is based on a proof-of-stake system as opposed to a proof-of-work system.SolarCoin began in 2014[2], based on an idea first presented in 2011 for an Electricity-Backed Currency[3].

How is SolarCoin different from Bitcoin?

On a foundational level, these two cryptocurrencies are very different, but they do share some similarities, namely, in that they are both cryptocurrencies.

What about the existing customers?

The existing SolarCoin chain (hereafter SolarCoin Classic or SCC) is safe, as are all the balances.

What is a “cryptocurrency”?

A cryptocurrency is like any other currency such as the U.S.dollar, euro or British pound, but rather than a government printing paper bills, a cryptocurrency is created (or “mined”) digitally via computers—or in the case of SolarCoin, with solar energy production.

Is SolarCoin any use?

If you are already involved in renewable energy, instead of thinking of SolarCoin as a variant of the technology behind Bitcoin, it is better to think of it as a global equivalent of the Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC).Within the UK, these were gifted to accredited renewable generators per MWh of green electricity produced, and then traded on a market.This is a useful analogy, because it gives us an idea of the necessary value for a Solar Coin to make a difference, and also shows a model that SolarCoin could replicate globally.Sadly, ROCs are now closed to new entrants.

Why change?

After 7 years on our existing blockchain, the SolarCoin project is undergoing an upgrade.The blockchain ecosystem has evolved drastically since our inception, and the current chain doesn’t meet the needs of our customers, nor does it serve our 40-year mission to incentivize solar energy.

Is SolarCoin worth it?

SolarCoin is undoubtedly the cryptocurrency for the future.It will create proper environmental standards for all individuals around the globe.By succeeding in the cryptocurrency market, SolarCoin will increase the production of solar energy and provide a safe and sustainable electricity source for the consumers.

History of SolarCoin