The Solar Foundation
{"type": "project", "title": "The Solar Foundation", "logoImg": "bafkreicdrjubb2d3izz5u25ccj53fmn5ynkbnecnpsncjxsmvu45p4vxgi", "website": "https://solarfoundation.xyz", "bannerImg": "bafybeifamt5h6q75m535qohpagpspujvot2xaayeercitahneiepggrw5y", "createdAt": 1673281963044, "credentials": {}, "description": "About ☀️\n\nThe Solar Foundation’s mission is to fund solar to under-served communities in emerging markets and developing economies. We want to reinvent the non-profit and NGO model using the tools of web3 to create a new funding model. The new model will help underserved communities access clean energy and have an ownership stake in the solar deployed in their community. The Solar Foundation will fund these projects through donations, micro-loans, and other funding models. Public goods should empower communities; we believe access to electricity is a public good! Our long-term goal is to transfer 100% of the ownership to the communities we serve. \n\nUpdate\n\nSince GR15, our focus at the Solar Foundation has been on helping Ayowecca Uganda, a fellow Gitcoin Grantee in need of solar, to help improve the safety, security, and efficiency of its community-based agroforestry NGO. Ayowecca has made two project requests: 1. Solar lights for the Ayowecca tree nursery; 2. Solar + Storage for critical power needs at their office. We’ve consulted with Ayowecca to determine their needs and how we can best help and have sent crypto to fund the solar lights for the tree nursery. The lights will be purchased from and installed by a local solar installer. \n\nFor the Ayowecca office, we learned that the organization is hoping to move to a new office next year, so ideally, the solar solution should be mobile. We have been researching mobile solar solutions and exploring a potential partnership with the Footprint Project (footprintproject.org).  We hope to pursue a mobile solution that would meet Ayowecca’s needs and provide workforce training and a new source of revenue for the community. We are also working with Footprint Project in Puerto Rico where we will be helping to find some of their work as a part of our GR15 funding commitments.\n\nProblem\n\nClimate change is an existential threat to humanity. The people most affected are in low-income and developing communities. They have directly suffered the most from dirty energy and industry. Electricity is an essential public good that drives economic growth, improves living standards, and alleviates poverty. We aspire to give this good back to the people. Many organizations have been working to solve this complex problem. If a centralized utility company tried to solve the problem, they would construct large fossil fuel-burning power plants and then build a grid of power lines to connect to customers. They would also keep all of the production and infrastructure ownership. This infrastructure does not exist in the parts of the world where energy poverty is an issue. Building traditional power plants and power grids is slow and costly, and the environmental impacts of creating this infrastructure are high. They would significantly contribute to furthering the devastation of climate change. \n\nSolution\n\nWe believe a decentralized approach will be required to solve this problem. Instead of large centralized entities burning coal and other fossil fuels, the Solar Foundation will build localized small solar microgrids and individual systems. These microgrids can supply power to small communities as close to the end-user as possible. Web3 has evolved and can provide the tools necessary to build new funding mechanisms (using the power of DeFi) so that we can focus on funding solar projects. Our vision is to create a foundation that can provide tax efficiency to donors and fund vital solar projects worldwide. Ownership, payments, and system monitoring can all be on the blockchain. This level of transparency, accountability, and ownership will empower the communities we serve. A collaborative approach is essential to solving this problem. We seek to form a strong coalition of web3 and ReFi projects and bring the voices of the communities we serve into the conversation. We will work with local installers to help us install solar to support local economies and continue to support the projects long term so that they have an impact for years to come. \n\nWho we are\n\nJon Ruth has over 15 years of experience developing, managing, and constructing over 400MW of C&I and utility-scale solar projects. He has also been on the nonprofit United Solar Initiative board for six years. Since 2016, Jon has been involved in cryptocurrency, including mining various cryptocurrencies. For 20+ years, Jon has studied climate change and has a passion for building sustainable solutions to one of the most significant challenges humanity faces. Jon is building his legacy by making the maximum impact possible in the fight against climate change. \n\nColeen Chase works on the Gitcoin Public Goods Operations team. She cares deeply about building solutions to address climate change. After adding solar to her family’s home and realizing how difficult it is to implement a microgrid in her community, she is committed to helping implement an equitable transition to renewable energy so that people everywhere can experience a healthier, safer, more secure, and brighter future. \n\nJames loves the problem-solving required to bring new ideas to life. He has collaborated to launch 25+ products into the industrial biotech / renewable energy sector as a scientist, PM, and department manager. He is driven by his love for his kids and the fear for their future if we don't collectively fight to mitigate climate change. \n\nWhy Us\n\nThe Solar Foundation team members have the background to execute this vision because of our combined experience in solar, crypto, web3, and research and our determination to have an environmental and social impact with the projects we build. With a lengthy background in solar and sustainability, Jon is perfectly positioned to develop strong partnerships with solar providers around the globe. He has negotiated millions of dollars of construction contracts over his career and developed solar projects valued at millions of dollars. He has also been on the board of a non-profit developing and funding microgrid projects internationally. Coleen has a marketing background at both Microsoft and Apple along with 10 years experience writing and editing healthcare-related articles and books. She firmly believes in the capability of web3 to help address our urgent climate crisis and in the need for a just transition to clean energy worldwide. James has a passion for solving big problems in the world. Before entering the ReFi space, he was designing new models for tracking carbon and impact in his work in industrial biotech. James was excited earlier this year to find that a whole community was working on some of the problems he had been thinking about for years. He brings value to every project he contributes to and excels at project and people management, community building, and bringing great vibes.\n", "logoImgData": {}, "bannerImgData": {}, "projectTwitter": "solar_FND"}