ASSOCIATE SPOTLIGHT | Solar Run Helps Consumers Access Energy with PAYGo Enabled Solutions

30 November 2020

By Mei Wan
Lighting Global Communications

Providing villages in rural DRC access to education and entertainment with solar-home-system-powered appliances. Photo © Solar Run

Solar Run, a Chinese manufacturer, was among the first companies to sell PAYGo-enabled solar home systems, benefitting from increasingly matured integration and mobile payment technology in the sector.
“As a young brand, we are determined to provide cost-effective product choices to end consumers. This approach allows consumers to try energy service with a low financial barrier, so that we are able to quickly grow consumer’s adoption for PAYGo model,” said Judy Li, Vice President at Solar Run.
In the Vanuatu Rural Electrification Program (VREP) – Vanuatu’s electrification program for remote areas supported by the World Bank and the government of New Zealand, Solar Run worked with their local partner to provide Apollo – a large solar home system that provides households with both lighting and entertainment needs. “With the subsidy provided by VREP, the customers were able to enjoy electricity with high-quality products for the entire household at a low cost,” Solar Run’s distributor Rannie Pantay said.
Built on an open API framework, Solar Run’s SHS integrated with four PAYGo platforms and over 20 mobile money companies across Africa and South Asia. Li said, “It largely allowed us to work with distributors from different markets without creating extra tech costs, ultimately increasing product sales.”

Leveraging Lighting Global Certification to Foster New Market Opportunities
Solar Run is currently selling products in 39 countries serving 150,000 end-users and offers 12 products that meet Lighting Global Quality Standards, ranging from pico reading light to PAYGo-enabled large solar home systems. “We learned about Lighting Global’s Quality Standards from years of working for other clients as an OEM manufacturer. The idea of pursuing the certification for the Solar Run brand was rooted in our very first product,” said Apple Liu, sales manager at Solar Run.
In the DRC Electricity Access & Services Expansion (EASE) program – a RBF based program supported by the World Bank to enhance energy access for the two million underserved population living outside of SNLF national grid in Congo, Solar Run was chosen as a PAYGo enabled supplier for a modularized solar home system from their product portfolio that meets Lighting Global Quality Standards.
“The scale of this project required not only power for household lighting or appliances, but also solutions to power community infrastructures such as farming tools, schools and health centers. Certifying our products to the Lighting Global Quality Standards provided the EASE program with an extra insurance of quality,” Li said. “Additionally, in partnership with Vodacom, we are promoting these energy services through Vodacom shop network. With over 3,000 locations, this will bring tremendous marketing value to PAYGo solar and our products.”
“For the off-grid solar market, VeraSol (formerly Lighting Global Quality Assurance) provides consumers, professional buyers, investors and development programs the accurate, trusted, third-party product certification they need to make informed decisions. Manufacturers are leveraging VeraSol quality certification to stand out from competitors and build market confidence for their products,” explained Ari Reeves, who manages the VeraSol program.

Investing in Solar Media Solutions for the Future of PAYGo
Li explains that Solar Run is introducing a solar media solution to empower consumers with information access and education use.
Their newest solar media kit comes with multiple LED lights, phone chargers and a 7’ pad coupled with a media center, where users can access various contents including children’s education, agriculture practices, service information as well as government podcasts.
“While the Lighting Global quality testing for this new line of product is currently undergoing, we are working on preparing for our first pilot in India. We believe this solar media kit will help our users and their livelihoods to thrive,” said Li.

聚焦合作企业 | Solar Run 携 PAYGo 太阳能产品助力消费者接入能源

文 | 万梅
点亮全球传播团队

得益于离网太阳能行业日渐成熟的集成和移动支付技术，中国制造商 Solar Run 是首批销售支持 PAYGo（即付即用）的太阳能家用系统的企业之一。
“作为一个年轻的品牌，我们坚持为终端客户提供高性价比的产品。这一方式使消费者以更低的门槛享受到能源服务，我们也因此能够快速扩大消费者对于 PAYGo 模式的接纳。” Solar Run 副总裁李长虹表示。
在由世界银行和新西兰政府支持的瓦努阿图农村电气化计划（VREP）中，Solar Run 携手当地合作伙伴，一起为该计划提供了 Apollo，一款可以同时满足家庭照明和娱乐的需求的大型太阳能家用系统。“得益于瓦努阿图农村电气化计划提供的补贴，消费者能够以低成本购买到能够供全家使用的高质量产品，” Solar Run 经销商 Rannie Pantay 介绍道。
基于开放接口框架开发，Solar Run 太阳能家用系统目前已经集成进4个 PAYGo 平台和20多家非洲和南亚的移动支付平台。李长虹表示：“这极大地推动了我们在无需额外成本的条件下，与不同市场的经销商合作，最终实现产品销量的增长。”

借助点亮全球认证，占领市场机会
目前，Solar Run 的产品销往全球39个国家，为15万用户提供一共12款获得点亮全球质量标准认证的产品，覆盖微型阅读照明灯到支持 PAYGo 的大型太阳能家用系统。“我们从长期作为 OEM 制造商为客户提供服务的过程中认识了点亮全球质量标准。所以我们从自有品牌的第一款产品便开始寻求点亮全球认证，对质量的追求深植于 Solar Run 的品牌，” Solar Run 销售经理刘运平表示。
在刚果电力接入和服务扩展（EASE）计划中——一项由世界银行支持，旨在为刚果国家电网覆盖范围之外的200万人口增强能源接入的计划，Solar Run 被选为供应商之一，为该计划提供他们获得点亮全球质量标准认证的支持 PAYGo 的模块化太阳能家用系统。
“该个规模的项目要求产品不仅可以为家用照明或电器产品供能，更需要能够为社区基础设施，比如农业机具、学校和卫生中心等提供能源解决方案。将产品进行点亮全球质量标准认证，也向 EASE 计划提供了额外的质量保障。” 李长虹进一步表示，“此外，通过一项与南非电信（Vodacom）的合作，我们将在他们的门店网络内推广这些能源服务。南非电信拥有超过3000个服务网点，这将为我们的 PAYGo 太阳能产品带来巨大的市场价值。”
“对于离网太阳能市场，VeraSol（前身为点亮全球质量保证项目）为消费者、专业买家、投资商和项目开发商提供准确、可信赖的第三方产品认证，助力他们的决策。制造商可借助 VeraSol 质量认证从竞争者中脱颖而出，为其产品增加市场认可度。” VeraSol 项目负责人 Ari Reeves 阐述道。

投资太阳能媒体解决方案，着眼 PAYGo 未来前景
李长虹介绍道，Solar Run 正在推出一款太阳能媒体解决方案，为消费者提供在信息收取和教育领域的服务。
这款最新的太阳能媒体套件包括多个 LED 照明灯、手机充电接口和一个带有媒体中心功能的7寸平板屏幕，用户可以在媒体中心获取包括儿童教育、农业实践、服务信息以及政府广播等在内的丰富内容。
“目前，这一新产品的点亮全球质量测试正在进行之际，我们也正在准备该产品在印度的第一个试点项目。我们相信，太阳能媒体套件将帮助我们的用户，改善他们的生活。” 李长虹表示。