Solaria’s Pro-Bono Partnership with Solar Head of State

As part of Solaria’s greater mission to tackle climate change and to make solar mainstream, Solaria has joined forces with Solar Head of State (SHOS), a non-profit organization of grassroots activists and solar energy social entrepreneurs from around the world. Inspired by President Carter’s installation of solar water heaters on the White House in 1979, SHOS recognized early on the impact solar could have on the greater push towards clean energy. By installing solar PV systems on iconic buildings such as government houses and executive residences, renewable energy is catapulted to the top; it becomes symbolic of a nation’s dedication to combat climate change and a tool for local renewable energy education.

SHOS’s first project was in 2010 where it installed solar on the Presidential Palace in the Maldives. Its second project was in Saint Lucia on Government House, the public residence of the Governor-General. Carbon emissions from the Maldives and Saint Lucia are minimal on a global scale, but like other island nations, these two countries are the most vulnerable to climate change due to rising sea levels and tropical storms. SHOS’s third project, and one Solaria is proud to have participated in, was in Jamaica. Solaria donated a 15kW array that was installed on the Office of the Prime Minister.

The projects in the Maldives, Saint Lucia and Jamaica lead to a partnership between SHOS and the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF), a program supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the government of India. In an initiative called the Solarisation of Residences of PIDF members’ Heads of States, SHOS and PIDF have set out to install twelve solar systems on iconic buildings across eleven Pacific Island Countries including Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, in addition to the Headquarters of the PIDF. Solaria has signed on to donate panels for the twelve projects, totaling 180kW over the next two years. For all its projects, SHOS trains local staff and volunteers who assist with the construction, operation and maintenance of the solar system. The systems are used to educate the community about the benefits of solar energy and to inspire the greater adoption of solar and other renewable energy technologies.

Electricity costs in island nations are some of the highest in the world. This is in large part due to their isolation, reliance on imported fuel and weak infrastructure. Many households cannot afford the high cost of electricity or lack a reliable means to obtain it. In Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, for example, household electrification rates are less than 20%. In other parts of the world where electricity is scarce and fuel prices are high, solar is shown to be the most viable and affordable source of power. In Syria, for example, there has been a recent “solar boom,” not because of a increased awareness of climate change, but because solar is far cheaper and more reliable than the national power grid. Not only is solar fundamental to curbing climate change, it also acts as a tool for energy equity and poverty reduction.

Without an immediate and concerted effort by individuals, corporations and governments to address our growing environmental problems, the world will undergo fundamental and potentially catastrophic changes in the coming decades. Island nations and other poor countries will suffer the harshest consequences of climate change while having the least number of resources to cope. Through public-private partnership and collaboration, SHOS and Solaria are facilitating a global shift towards solar— a shift that is essential for to the health of the planet. Through the installation of solar on iconic buildings, nations are demonstrating their commitment to climate action and inspiring others to follow suit. Solaria is honored to partner with SHOS and we look forward to many more projects with them in the future.