Sino Soar Hybrid – Design, Supply & Installation of Pre-paid Solar Home Systems (Philippines)
Who, What & Where
- Sino Soar Hybrid (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd.
- Design, supply, and installation of 10,000 sets of 50 Wp pre-paid Solar Home Systems (SHS) in more than 300 villages
- Mindanao, Philippines
The Company
Sino Soar Hybrid (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. (SINOSOAR) is an international high-tech company specialised in solar hybrid and off-grid fields. SINOSOAR’s main business scope covers R&D, system integration, project development, engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance as well as project financing and investment. SINOSOAR provides customised turnkey solutions for solar hybrid and off-grid projects all over the world.
So far, the total contract value of SINOSOAR projects has exceeded one billion Chinese Yuan, and the projects spread across more than 10 countries and regions in Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America. SINOSOAR has built more than 30 solar hybrid projects and installed over 400,000 sets of off-grid solar power system, benefiting over 3.2 million people.
The Challenge
As the largest off-grid solar project in the Philippines, the beneficiary households are scattered located in over 300 far-flung mountainous villages which have no road to access. The last mile transportation of goods to beneficiary households has to rely on horses, motorbike, and manpower. The hot and humid weather was also a major challenge.
Renewable Solution
The SHS product was specially developed for this project to satisfy the basic electricity needs of the population in the remote area. The product adopts off-grid computer control technology integrated with the functions of Lithium Battery Management System, RFID off-grid top-up, AM/FM radio, LCD+LED display etc. This product is a highly cost-effective SHS with high reliability.
The Vending Management System (VMS) used in this project is a set of software developed by SINOSOAR which serves more than 80,000 sets of pre-paid SHS all over the world. The VMS adopts RFID technology with a portable vending machine as well as a computer. The end-user of the SHS could purchase load with a User Card from nearby vending station to reload their SHS. The vending machine is powered by an independent set of SHS which enables the allocation of the vending station anywhere near the SHS end users even if there is no grid access in the vending station. The collected payment from end-users will be used by the vending station owner to buy more loads from higher-level management office. Meanwhile, the data of vending will be uploaded to the cloud VMS through mobile signal which can be managed and monitored by the project owner in their office.
Project Financing and Costs
The project benefits from the output-based grant financing from World Bank and European Union.
Project Outcome
- It powers 10,000 families and provides stable power supply for the people in off-grid areas;
- For the first time, the pre-paid renewable energy project has been successfully implemented in the Philippines which brings sustainable income to the power company;
- It provides a good solution for the remote areas of the Philippines to realise national electrification in the future and stimulates the implementation of a large number of follow-up projects.