Cheaper, crowdfunded solar energy for farmers

Sun Exchange uses crowdfunding to help schools, farms and other organisations switch to solar power. Abe Cambridge, the founder of Sun Exchange, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about this solution.

- Glenneis Kriel

Why did you start Sun Exchange?

I came to South Africa from England to work as a solar financial adviser in 2014. At the time, I was struck by the poor adoption of solar technology, which I later realised was because of the absence of subsidies, government incentives and funding solutions. To help solve the situation, I launched Sun Exchange in 2015.

How does it work?

Sun Exchange is a crowd-based solar leasing platform, where people and businesses around the world unite to enable solar power for schools, non-profit organisations, farms and other small-to-medium sized organisations in South Africa.

A crowd sale of solar cells for each unique solar project takes place through thesunexchange.com, where anyone, anywhere can buy cells online for a limited time. 

The cells are leased to a solar project once all the cells for that project have been purchased. Solar cell owners then generate a passive income from the solar power they produce, while the organisations they power gain access to simple, affordable, reliable and clean energy.

How has the business grown since 2015?

To date, our global community of members, which includes corporates and individuals, has funded 75 solar projects to the value of R175 million. This equates to two million solar cells, or 14 000 whole solar panels, with a combined output of about 7,8MW. Our 10 most recent projects have included battery storage.

Eskom estimates that 1MW of solar can meet the annual energy needs of around 650 middle-income homes. Sun Exchange's 7,8MW roll-out of clean electricity therefore meets the energy needs of more than 5 000 homes.

In terms of our environmental impact, we have reduced carbon emissions by over 19 000t, equivalent to 74 million kilometres driven in a normal car, 297 000 seedlings grown for 10 years, or 682 000 incandescent light bulbs switched to LED.