The latest project on the ecoligo.investments crowdinvesting platform has been funded in 26 days! The project will power the irrigation of Las Lomas vineyard in central Chile with clean energy, saving over 57.8 tonnes of CO2 per year. The vineyard is owned by quality wine producer Cono Sur, whose operations are built on the principles of sustainability and innovation and have won many awards for their environmentally friendly practices. Crowdinvestors raised 130,000 € to finance the project and receive a return of 5.00 % over 5 years. The project is the first to come from a collaboration between ecoligo and leading global…
Solar’s potential to clean up agriculture in Chile
With a diverse landscape reaching from the tropics to just north of the Antarctic, Chile is rich in natural resources that have long been utilised to create a strong agricultural sector. Exports, including products such as fruit and wine, account for almost 30% of the country’s GDP. Yet despite the positive economic impact, these industries are also energy-intensive and account for a high percentage of the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – which are growing at the third fastest rate of all OECD countries. Industries, particularly those that rely heavily on the natural environment, are looking for more sustainable ways…
ecoligo.investments funds latest solar project in just 11 hours as German crowd investors show their support for Ghanaian entrepreneurship
Thursday 22nd March 2018 FRANKFURT / BERLIN / ACCRA – German crowdinvestors have shown their support for Ghanaian entrepreneurship after a project to power the Impact Hub in Accra was financed in record time on the ecoligo.investments platform. The financing volume of €14,000 was raised by in just 11 hours by private investors, who will receive 5.50 % interest over a period of 7 years. The project will see the Hub, which fosters innovation and entrepreneurship in Ghana’s capital, become the first business in the West African country to benefit from ecoligo’s fully financed solar-as-a-service solution. The solar plus storage…
Interview with William Senyo from Impact Hub Accra
The latest project to be launched on the ecoligo.investments crowdinvesting platform is to finance a solar system for the Impact Hub in Accra, Ghana. The system has a capacity of 8.8 kWp with a 25 kWh battery system that can provide reliable, clean electricity to the Impact Hub Accra during the night or when there is a power cut. We spoke to William Senyo, the co-founder and CEO of the Impact Hub Accra, to find out what goes on there, how solar will help Ghana’s entrepreneurs and what it means to the Hub to run on solar power. Check…
Now is the time to invest in solar
As solar energy becomes cheaper, it becomes an increasingly important source of clean energy in the energy mix. It can be competitive without subsidies and is now even cost-competitive when combined with energy storage in some application sectors. With both environmental and economic sustainability, investments into solar energy are obviously attractive. But as prices drop and technology develops, when is the right time to invest in solar? Looking at the market, it couldn’t be clearer: the time is now. Solar energy is cheaper than its fossil fuel competition The cost of renewable energy will continue to fall. On the other…
Why the ecotourism industry must embrace clean energy solutions
People are traveling more than ever. A growing global middle class is giving rise to a ‘traveling class’; those who view travel as an essential part of life, rather than a luxury. While much of this is business travel, we are also taking holidays to increasingly far-flung destinations. This comes at the expense of our environment, and at a time when environmental awareness and the pursuit of a sustainable lifestyle is growing, many are seeking to consolidate their love of long-haul travel with their environmental concerns. This has made way for a rise in ecotourism. It is hailed as a…
Powering Life in the Philippines – Infographic
Decentralised solar storage systems provide a reliable, affordable and clean power supply to people and businesses with a poor connection to electricity. For the 16 million people that are living off the grid in the Philippines, these systems can replace polluting energy sources like diesel generators and kerosene and can be scaled up, enabling people to grow their business or install more electrical devices in their homes. In 2017, a solar-plus-storage system was installed at Qi Palawan, a Zero Carbon Resort certified ecoresort on the island of Palawan in the Philippines. An array of solar panels with a capacity of 42…
Crowdfinancing the Paris Agreement: how citizens can get involved in COP23
Since COP21 in Paris two years ago, renewable energy and its importance in mitigating climate change has really hit the mainstream. In the past, however, renewable energy was still niche and investments into renewables were ridiculed. Many investors thought of such investments as merely greenwashing, or that at best they would allow investors to feel they were ‘doing the right thing’. That has changed dramatically: investments in renewable energy are not only sustainable and protect the environment, but are also lucrative. So lucrative, that Shell has invested 1.7 billion US dollars into a new unit of the company that will specialise in renewable…
Bloomberg Future of Energy Summit 2017: past the tipping point
Energy is going to reach a zero-marginal-cost point in 20 years – and it’s not because coal is getting any cheaper. At the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) 2017 Future of Energy Summit, renewable energy was (unsurprisingly) central to the discussion. The development of clean energy technologies is accelerating faster than even the BNEF forecasters have predicted and the event, held in London on the 19th and 20th of September, was buzzing with stories of an industry that’s at the tipping point of outpricing fossil fuels. ecoligo CEO Martin Baart shares his learnings. A changing energy market One of the…
Project News: Installation is underway at flower farm
We are happy to share the news that the installation is underway on the flower farm! The installation of both systems began in July and they are due to be completed in August, as planned. In April, we financed two solar systems for a flower farm in Thika, Kenya, with a total financing volume of 260.000€. As the first projects on our crowdinvesting platform, we are very pleased with the progress and look forward to working with Ariya Leasing, our partner in Kenya, on many more projects. More information can be found here. Pictures from the 132 kWp rooftop system are below….