Sun Exchange Video Diary #51

Published: 26 Oct 2021

The 51st episode of Sunex Video Diaries is here! These videos get you behind the scenes at Sun Exchange, giving you the latest on solar cell installations, community energy production, industry news and much more. Catch up with Abe as he talks about COP26, further investment rounds and all things Sun Exchange.

In this episode:

  • COP26
  • Installation updates
  • Live projects
  • ARCH convertable note
  • Dashboard updates


  • Transcript and notes


    Hello, Sun Exchangers! Welcome to the 51st episode of Sunex Video Diaries. It's springtime here in South Africa, so we're really feeling the energy from those early signs of summer. There's a lot going on behind the scenes and in the world around us, which affects all things solar energy. This is the episode to catch up on all things Sun Exchange.

    This month, COP26 is being held in Scotland putting the climate change emergency at the top of the global agenda. While big businesses and governments are discussing their plans on how to address the threat of climate change, you, the Sun Exchange community, are already taking action on the ground, making that transition to clean energy happen. The Sun Exchange platform enables all individuals, anywhere in the world, to generate clean energy at the click of a button. Since the last Sunex Video Diary episode, we have made two major solar projects happen. One for Rob Ferreira High School, and one for Outerwest Recycling Plant. Outerwest Recycling plant is the first solar project of its kind hosted on our platform. The plant keeps 200 tonnes of plastics from entering our environment every month. That's a huge positive impact and you have just reduced their operating costs. Congratulations to everyone who made that project happen!

    We've also seen two new solar projects go live and start producing power in the last quarter. Rondebosch Boys' High School and SPAR Lulekani are now seeing lower-cost energy thanks to all the solar cell owners producing power for those projects. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who is now earning solar-powered money whilst reducing the cost of education in South Africa.

    Some other big news for Sun Exchange – ARCH Emerging Markets Partners, one of our investors, has just doubled down on their investment in Sun Exchange to enable us to continue growing and scaling across the African continent. ARCH Managing Director, Bill Barry, said, “Sun Exchange continues to demonstrate momentum as a fast-emerging leader eliminating obstacles to solar proliferation in Africa…We are proud to continue partnering with Sun Exchange on its journey to accelerate the global energy transition.

    As Sun Exchange projects expand into the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, we'll be addressing issues such as food security and energy reliability, both fundamental to sustainable development across the continent.

    If you've visited your Sun Exchange dashboard recently, you would have noticed a few small changes. Most notably, you will now see a currency conversion tool when you buy solar cells, allowing you to see the value of the solar cell purchase and the earnings in the home currency of your choice. On your dashboard, you will also see another currency conversion tool showing you the value of your solar-powered earnings in your wallet.

    Thank you all very much for watching this Sunex Video Diary episode. Please like and share this episode on your social media and spread the news of Sun Exchange and how people can start taking climate action immediately, earning income from providing solar energy to worthwhile organisations. See you all next time!