Universal Access to Solar Power, One Step at a Time

Q: What differentiates Bright from other distributedgeneration solar companies?

A: Bright is usually thought of as a solar installation company, but in reality it is a software company. We are building a software platform to allow everyone in the solar ecosystem to be efficient, cost-effective and to scale up operations as fast as possible. To accomplish this, we partner with local installers, suppliers and entrepreneurs as well as with international manufacturers so they can act together with local players to install the solar systems. Our sales partners are comprised mainly of student ambassadors who promote and sell the technology, while the entrepreneurs and installation partners provide the solution. Bright’s software connects all these pieces together. Instead of just being a one-service provider, Bright is a full-service provider that integrates all these services to make an efficient and customer-oriented solar system. Although Bright is a small company, it has a huge footprint that includes thousands of people working across Mexico. It is not easy to coordinate and manage all these pieces in a frictionless way that is hassle-free for the final customer, which is why we face an underdevelopment of distributed generation in Mexico.

Q: How will Bright provide universal solar access when working with DAC consumers?

A: Tesla is an interesting analogy. The first Tesla car cost over US$100,000. It was not universally accessible but it was fast and appealed to people who liked and could afford sports cars. Because Tesla could sell enough cars at that price range it could lower the cost of batteries, which is the most expensive component of the car, to the point where it could create the S model. This model is still expensive but affordable to a much larger segment of the market, enabling the company to produce more and bring costs even lower. Tesla now has the model 3, which costs around US$30,000. 
Our mission is to reach every corner of the world where people do not have any power source besides fuels like kerosene and to bring them electricity as a fundamental enabler of  communication, entertainment and education. Solar at the moment is too expensive to introduce to low-income communities. With this huge mission on our shoulders, we have to make sure to take it step by step. Our job, therefore, is to offset the tariffs in countries with high rates and good solar radiation. Having a strong base of customers in the high and middle-income segment will allow us to bring technology costs down. It may sound counterintuitive to start with the elite to provide universal access, but we believe this is the most effective path. Many startups that want to provide clean, affordable and universal access to electricity from day one fail to apply economies of scale to technologies that are still expensive. Bright is working with the DAC and T2 segments in Mexico. We are in the process of opening five offices across the country and creating local teams. We expect to have them ready by the middle of 2018. After that, we will reach the South American market in countries such as Chile, Colombia and Brazil.

Q: What are the chances Bright will bring its software design operations to Mexico?

A: We are trying hard to bring our core software operations here but the lack of human capital is holding us back. The reason is not that there is a lack of talent, which definitely exists in the country, but the lack of opportunities for that talent to work in companies before graduating and to develop significant real-world experience. Students in Mexico do not have the opportunity to walk down the street and seek part-time jobs at global companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter like students in Silicon Valley do. Since Bright is interested in developing the industrial ecosystem from its very own roots, we are working on providing the opportunities for students to develop finance and sales together with programing skills. Furthermore, we expect that the skills and abilities they learn will be used in international environments. In a globalized world, this is a strong asset for them, and for the country, and high schools and universities should join in this effort.