SOLshare: Bangladesh's Villages Trade Solar Power Peer-to-Peer

SOLshare built the world's first peer-to-peer solar electricity trading network, using a smart meter called the SOLbox to link existing rooftop solar home systems into local 'SOLgrids' that let households and small businesses buy and sell surplus power directly to neighbors via mobile money. The network now runs 120 SOLgrids across Bangladesh, including installations inside Rohingya refugee camps, and has improved energy access for more than 80,000 people. By letting solar owners earn income from unused capacity instead of wasting it, the system cuts households' effective energy costs by at least 25% and has helped avoid more than 2,700 tonnes of CO2 emissions.