Overview
SolarSurge is a decentralized platform that lets solar panel owners earn income from excess energy. Instead of pushing unused kWh back to the grid at low feed-in tariffs, users redirect their surplus into mining Bitcoin, running ORE validators, or powering decentralized AI inference — and get paid in crypto.
This idea was built and presented during the Superteam Balkans x Colosseum Hackathon, backed by a grant and early community interest.
Key Features
- Energy Dashboard: Users can monitor used vs. surplus energy, earnings, and system efficiency in real time.
- Plug-and-Earn Node Setup: Integration with supported miners (e.g. Antminer S21 XP+ Hyd) or AI compute hardware for instant deployment.
- Crypto Payouts: Rewards are distributed in $BTC, $SOL, or $ORE based on compute workload and contribution.
- Automated Routing Engine: Smart algorithms decide whether excess energy goes to BTC mining, AI jobs, or blockchain validation — maximizing profitability.
- DePIN-Native: All compute jobs are verifiable, distributed, and decentralized — supporting the future of infrastructure ownership.
Technologies Used
- Next.js + Tailwind: For a sleek, responsive web dashboard.
- Supabase: User auth, database, and analytics backend.
- Socket.io: Real-time updates of energy usage and miner status.
- Rust/Node Workers: Interface layer for energy-to-compute conversion and job routing.
- Solana + ORE Protocol: Blockchain execution and validator reward layers.
Challenges and Learnings
Building SolarSurge required combining two complex domains: energy hardware and blockchain infrastructure. We had to ensure our system worked across different inverter setups and compute jobs — while keeping the UX friendly for non-technical users.
We also explored energy regulation laws and learned how to frame the project to complement, not compete with existing grid providers — offering a win-win for green energy producers.
Outcome
SolarSurge earned 3rd place at the Superteam Balkan Solana Startup Village (Split 2025) and was recognized as one of the most promising DePIN use cases in the region. The platform is now onboarding early testers and working with hardware partners to simplify deployment across the Balkans and EU solar markets.
We're building a future where anyone with a panel becomes a decentralized infrastructure provider.
