Claiming your SolarCoins on Sunny Portal

[18 October 2023 – Further information after migration]: As we are still receiving many comments regarding the migration, please check our post describing the details. Here you will more information regarding this topic.

[10 November, 2021 – Update Exchange platform after migration]: Soon you will be able to find out about the current course on a new Exchange platform. We will then provide you with the current link here.

[May 27, 2021 – Update SolarCoin Migration]: After a successful move, SolarCoin Foundation’s SolarCoins are now available on the Energy Web Foundation (EWF) blockchain. We will report on the most important changes here on the blog in a timely manner. Sunny Portal users who have not yet provided a wallet ID can continue to use the SolarCoins without restrictions. Please note the following: When applying for SolarCoins via Sunny Portal, no valid wallet ID from the new blockchain can be specified, as the corresponding field must remain empty.

[June 28, 2019 update: SolarCoin now also available for WebBox systems]: Operators and owners of PV plants connected via Webconnect, Sunny Home Manager or Sunny WebBox to Sunny Portal can now get an additional reward for their produced clean energy. With only a few clicks you get access to SolarCoin, the first energy-referenced currency.

What is SolarCoin?

SolarCoin, a blockchain-based crypto currency, was developed with a view to accelerating the energy transition. Like the networks for other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, the SolarCoin network is global and decentralized. In this case, however, the payout of SolarCoins is linked to a meaningful, cost-effective and environmentally friendly incentive: the generation of solar power.

SolarCoin is an open community project that was initiated in 2014 by founders of the SolarCoin Foundation and a group of volunteers. The SolarCoin Foundation rewards solar power generation by issuing blockchain-based digital tokens. One SolarCoin (SLR) is issued for each megawatt hour (MWh) of verified solar power production.

The SolarCoin reward is an additional bonus to existing incentive programs and is independent of other feed-in tariffs in place for solar power producers. Anyone who generates solar power and, as a result, avoids generating CO2 emissions in the long run can earn SolarCoins.

How can SolarCoins be claimed through Sunny Portal?

Through Sunny Portal it’s incredibly easy to claim your SolarCoins because you don’t need to submit all the documentation typically required for registration to provide evidence of the PV system’s ownership status, technical data, power generation capacity and identity. If you have one or more PV systems with a system capacity of up to 150 kWp registered in Sunny Portal and want to claim SolarCoins, just log in to www.sunnyportal.com/en with your e-mail address and password. To register your PV system for the SolarCoin program, you need admin rights for your system. If you don’t have them yet, please ask your installer.
Once you are logged-in, open “PV system properties” in the “configuration” part of the menu on the left side of your screen. To ensure the Foundation can perform data matching, please provide your complete system data. In some countries, the field “Country code” is somewhat confusing. It must also be filled in, so please enter for example the state, your district, department or country. On the next screen go to the tab “Data releases” to the right:

On the “Data releases” page, click the “Edit” button to change the settings and then check the “Consent to participate in the SolarCoin program” box:

Agree to the terms and conditions displayed and don’t forget to click on the “Save” button afterwards:

Now, the SolarCoin tile will appear in your PV system overview. After the status on the tile shows “SolarCoinApproved”, it might still take some time until you receive your first SolarCoins as the SolarCoin Foundation will need time to complete transfer of the coins. After that, your credit balance will be updated at regular intervals (depending on the size of the system the interval can be several months). If you register your system via Sunny Portal, you don´t need to register the system separately with the SolarCoin Foundation or the SolarCoin Explorer. Duplicate registration will prevent you from participating in the SolarCoin program.
A digital SolarCoin “wallet” is no longer required to submit a claim. The SolarCoin Foundation will manage users’ SolarCoins until they decide to redeem them.

By the way: SolarCoins are awarded retroactively for up to five years from the date of registration. Since April 2019, the interval for crediting your SolarCoins has been shortened from every six month to monthly. Get the current SolarCoin price here.

How can SolarCoins be used?

SolarCoins can be traded for conventional (fiat) currency on all major exchange portals. SolarCoins are an increasingly liquid valuable that can be paid out and tracked transparently. They are kept in digital wallets, can be managed on computers or mobile devices and can even be stored offline in paper form (paper wallet). The SolarCoin community is constantly evaluating use cases and business models for SolarCoin users.

If the project is successful and the demand for and price of SolarCoins rises, the digital incentive will increasingly represent an ever more significant share of a solar power producer’s revenues. Solar power can be sold or used as normal, with SolarCoin acting as an added bonus.

Solar industry companies are also encouraged to accept SolarCoins as a means of payment for their goods and services at the current exchange rate, which is listed on all well-known portals. At SMA, we are also exploring possibilities to make further use of SolarCoins, for example by providing additional services that can be paid for using SolarCoins.

Does the creation of SolarCoins use a lot of energy?

If users decide to use SolarCoins as a means of payment, they are making a conscious effort to prioritize environmental protection as the basis of their business activities. The SolarCoin blockchain uses an energy-efficient, proof-of-stake algorithm, which consumes 0.001% of the energy required by Bitcoin.

If you want to find out more about SolarCoin please contact:  support@solarcoin.org