Sun Exchange Harnesses the Power of Blockchain to Bring Solar Energy to Emerging Economies

People learned to harness the energy of the sun to produce electricity in the 1950s. Since then, scientists and engineers have discovered ways to turn it into a technology promising to achieve a zero-carbon future.

Solar power will be a free and reliable source of energy until the sun fizzles out, which is not happening anytime soon. However, it costs money to harvest this power and transform it into electricity. The industry has made a mighty leap forward in terms of cost-effectiveness and affordability: the price of a solar panel has fallen 80% since 2008 due to research and innovation. However, billions of people, mostly in poor emerging economies, still cannot afford to go solar and capitalize on the sun’s energy even if they live in the sunniest places on earth - most countries in Africa.

Since 2015, Sun Exchange has been running a simple yet effective solution: reduce the cost of going solar by applying crowdfunding techniques and breaking down solar panel ownership to a single cell. The company enables anyone wishing to earn an income from the sun by purchasing solar cells which are then deployed into the project of the buyers choice, places with the most abundant and valuable sunlight. The solution kills three birds with one stone: it offers a stable and reliable source of passive crypto income for retail investors, makes solar energy affordable for those who need it, and reduces our carbon footprint to the ultimate benefit of all of humanity.

To enable universal micro-leasing of solar cells, Sun Exchange has combined existing solar lease models with bitcoin payments to allow anyone in the world to own an operating solar cell and earn income form it with just a few taps on a screen.

1. Go through a simple registration process on the Sun Exchange platform - it takes only a minute.
2. Decide how many solar cells you want to buy and place your order to see the estimated rental income your purchase will generate.
3. Each campaign has a limited number of solar cells for sale, and once they’ve all be purchased, they get is installed at the chosen location and starts producing solar power, the recipient of which pays for by the kWh generated.
4. Sun Exchange arranges lease agreements and ensures that the equipment is installed to the highest standards of quality and all facilities are fully insured for fire, theft and damage..
5. Once the solar panels begin generating power, you start receiving income. Sun Exchange arranges your monthly lease rental collection and pays it out in bitcoin.

"Sun Exchange leverages blockchain and Bitcoin to increase transparency and reduce the costs of the cross-border transactions, both problems that inhibit the majority of commercial solar projects from accessing traditional funding options. By presenting a simple and accessible opportunity for anyone to join the solar economy, Sun Exchange unlocks the potential for the construction of environmentally sound and socially responsible projects that would otherwise not see the light of day," says founder and CEO Abe Cambridge.

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To super-charge the existing platform, Sun Exchange is launching a native crypto-rewards currency, SUNEX. SUNEX is an ERC20 token which users accumulate as they build a solar cell portfolio. The SUNEX rewards programme is heavily gamified, and tokens are awarded when users make smart decision and solar power different sectors and regions, and unlock achievements for reaching certain energy generation milestones.

SUNEX token holders get benefits in the form of higher lease rates, priority access to new projects, and participation in bonus programs. The more SUNEX a user owns, the greater these benefits become. There are 11 membership tiers to work towards, with the top tier ‘Power of Ra’ giving the user 5% discounts and first access to projects.

In a world first and highly innovative user case of staking, the smart contract that governs SUNEX enables the holder to stake their tokens into the Sun Exchange’s own Solar Project Insurance Fund (SPIF). While tokens are staked in this fund, the staker will earn up to a 20% return paid in SUNEX, while providing an insurance fund that protects Sun Exchange member’s solar cells from incurred costs in the event of lease default.

Once the rewards programme goes live, 1 SUNEX will be issued for every $10 spent on the platform. In the ICO, SUNEX tokens are being pre-sold for just $1, making it an easy way to get top tier access to the solar energy opportunities they host.

The public pre-sale round is currently live with a 15% bonus and will run until May 21, after which Sun Exchange will launch the main ICO stage. The company plans to create 266,666,667 tokens, with the hard cap set at $100 million. Over 40% of tokens will be reserved for post-ICO loyalty and bonus programs.

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