Solar Panel Cleaning Solution Wins New Venture Competition
Here’s a note from a young woman at the University of California at Santa Barbara:
My name is Colette King and I am part of the start up, MoreSolar. We recently won first place at the UC Santa Barbara New Venture Competition along with the Impact Award for our solar panel cleaning device. I am reaching out to you to see how we can connect with potential Impact Investors who are interested in an early stage hardware start up. I would love to chat with you more about our company and our progress after the competition. I have also attached a news article about our company and our product.
Colette (pictured) and I just spoke on the phone. Although MoreSolar has 23 provisional patents, I’m reluctant to publish exactly how the device works; suffice it to say that it uses the force of the wind to clean the panel, and that it’s extremely simple and inexpensive.
I really don’t have any advice that she haven’t already heard:
Present this concept at as many meeting of angels focused on cleantech as possible; you’re blessed that there are plenty around here, e.g., Tech Coast Angels.
Attend Solar Power International and meet as many people as possible. True, these people are generally not investors, but they’re all connected somehow to the industry. Every hand you shake is another potential strategic business partner.
Best of luck, Colette!
Craig,
Your advice to Colette is very sound. The field of endeavor she has chosen is very crowded. We list over 600 solar cleaning devices and products on the market already, and at least 20 solar panel companies who say solar panels are mostly self-cleaning.
Most of these products struggle to survive.
In Australia, larger solar panel installations are sold with cleaning technology thrown in as a closing inducement.
But, like every field of technology there will always be one that captures the imagination and gains consumer popularity.
I would like to join you in wishing Collette and her fellow team members, Atal Ashutosh Agarwal, Andrea Anez and Pete Makrygiannis, the best of luck for the future.
I would also like to wish Colette and her team the best of luck! The idea of a solar panel that cleans itself with the power of wind is ingenious!