
Coin Bureau Podcast|16. Mai
Glow CEO Reveals How Crypto Could Fund The Future Of Solar
Core Concept & CEO Background (David Borwick)
- David Borwick has 15 years of crypto experience and co-founded Sia (decentralized cloud storage). After burning out from that project, he sought a simpler, more effective application for crypto.
- Glow was inspired by an analysis of what crypto excels at: optimizing incentive systems, similar to Bitcoin's mining hardware improvements, but now applied to the solar industry.
- Glow uses a recursive subsidy model:
- The protocol pays to build solar farms that would otherwise be unprofitable.
- In return, Glow receives all the revenue from the electricity sold.
- This revenue is then reinvested to build even more solar farms.
- The goal is not short-term profit maximization but maximizing new solar capacity per dollar spent – for climate action, electrification, or grid stability.
- Glow owns a dedicated liquidity pool currently worth about 1.47 million USD (at the time of the interview).
- This pool acts as a permanent, non-incentivized market maker on Uniswap:
- It earns a spread, allowing the protocol's liquidity to grow over time.
- When the token price falls, it automatically buys tokens, creating a natural price floor. The pool cannot mathematically fall below $0.19.
- This prevents liquidity crises and death spirals common with other tokens.
- Buying & Holding:
- Direct purchase of the GLOW token from the liquidity pool.
- Or: buying a miner that distributes tokens weekly for 99 weeks. The purchase price (USDC) directly funds new solar farm construction.
- Delegating:
- Token holders can delegate their tokens to specific solar farms.
- This acts as an accountability mechanism: Only competitive farms receive rewards (~50% APY). Underperforming farms lose (a portion of) their delegated tokens.
- Philanthropy (Control Token):
- A separate asset that lets you decide where solar farms are built (e.g., in India or a specific US state).
- Enables targeted support for electrification or grid relief.
- Glow already has over 117 solar farms on its platform (at the time of the interview).
- The team avoids operational complexity: Instead of entering every country themselves, they partner with local solar firms who receive subsidies.
- This keeps the protocol extremely lean and allows for rapid iteration (approx. 1.3 major updates per month since October).
- Double verification by real people:
- Before construction: A drone photographer confirms the site has no solar panels.
- After completion: A qualified electrical engineer confirms the system is actually generating power.
- Plus: Verification of ownership and power purchase agreements.
- Many believe that traditional companies (solar firms, utilities) won't work with crypto. Glow proves this wrong: As long as the value proposition is clear (e.g., cheaper grid relief), companies are very open to crypto solutions.






