Bangladesh- based solar project wins UN prize

A ground-breaking project based in Bangladesh, which allows villagers to earn by selling excess solar energy to neighbours, was announced yesterday as one of 13 winners of the United Nations climate change awards. 

With the help of SOLshare's innovative technical solution, marginalised households without the means to finance their own solar power systems are able to purchase clean electricity from their neighbours at low cost, said a press release yesterday.

This contributes to displacing the more expensive kerosene, responsible for indoor and greenhouse gas pollution. It also lowers the financial barrier represented by the high initial down payment required for acquiring a solar home system, and brings clean energy to the non-bankable population.

Founded in 2014 as a German-Bangladeshi spin-off of MicroEnergy International GmbH, ME SOLshare has successfully piloted the world's first swarm grid, an ICT-enabled peer-to-peer electricity trading network for rural households with and without solar home systems in Shariatpur of Bangladesh.

The Shariatpur swarm grid is the first implementation of swarm electrification; researched with the support of the Technical University Berlin and conceptualised by MicroEnergy International.

The swarm electrification proposes a decentralised bottom-up sharing infra-system by linking together individual stand-alone energy systems to form a mini-grid that can eventually interconnect with legacy infrastructure.

Along with its implementation partner, the NGO UBOMUS, its financing partner IDCOL and research partner United International University - Centre for Energy Research, ME SOLshare combines solar home systems and centralised mini-grids to enable more rural households to access renewable electricity at a lower cost.

“Bangladesh is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, yet its people set an impressive example in resilience and innovation in the face of such adversity,” said Sebastian Groh, managing director of ME-SOLshare.

“We are deeply honoured that the bold idea of ME SOLshare was chosen as a Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activity, transforming the way people use and pay for energy. ME SOLshare creates solar networks, shares electricity and facilitates a low-carbon future in Bangladesh, and around the globe.”

In Bangladesh, based on the already over 4 million solar home systems installed in the field, ME SOLshare expects to operate more than 10,000 nanogrids by the end of 2030, which will supply more than 1 million end-users in Bangladesh.

The Momentum for Change initiative is spearheaded by the UN Climate Change secretariat to shine a light on some of the most innovative, scalable and replicable examples of what people are doing to address climate change.

“It is impressive to see so many original and creative ways to tackle climate change,” said UNFCCC Spokesperson Nick Nuttall.

“ME SOLshare is proof that climate action is building in countries, communities, companies and cities everywhere. Not only do this year's winning activities address climate change, but they also help drive forward progress on many other Sustainable Development Goals, such as innovation, gender equality and economic opportunity.”

The SOLshare project was awarded under the Momentum for Change ICT Solutions focus area for its work to harness the power of ICT in the fight against climate change whilst benefiting local communities, and serving as a role model for other countries.

Together with the other winning projects, it will be showcased at a series of special events during the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, Morocco (November 7-18, 2016).

The 2016 Lighthouse Activities were selected by an international advisory panel as part of the secretariat's Momentum for Change initiative, which operates in partnership with the World Economic Forum Global Project on Climate Change and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative.