- Solar tokenization could drive trillion dollar DeFi expansion
- Aave eyes infrastructure as next onchain lending frontier
- Energy transition financing moves closer to blockchain rails
Solar energy is emerging as a serious contender for the next wave of decentralized finance expansion. Aave founder Stani Kulechov believes the sector could unlock trillions in onchain lending over the coming decades. According to Kulechov, DeFi has already mastered global capital aggregation, yet it now faces a demand side challenge that requires new real world collateral.
He argues that finance has historically powered major economic shifts, including industrialization and electrification. Now, he sees solar and battery infrastructure as the next large scale transformation. Costs have fallen dramatically over the past decades, while deployment continues to accelerate across key markets.
Global solar capacity reached roughly 1.6 to 1.7 terawatts by the end of 2024. Installations in 2024 alone added more than 400 gigawatts. However, projections suggest the world will require several multiples of current capacity by 2050 to meet energy transition goals.
Kulechov estimates that solar investment could range between $15 trillion and $30 trillion by mid century. In a high growth scenario driven by AI and data centers, that figure could approach $50 trillion. Consequently, he sees a massive opening for onchain protocols to finance part of that expansion.
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Tokenized Solar Debt Seen as Scalable DeFi Collateral
He proposes tokenizing solar project equity and senior debt to integrate infrastructure into lending markets. Solar projects typically operate under long term power purchase agreements with creditworthy buyers. Moreover, they generate predictable cash flows and require limited operating costs once built.
Under this framework, a developer holding $100 million in tokenized solar debt could borrow stablecoins quickly. That liquidity could then fund additional construction without long refinancing cycles. Additionally, investors would gain exposure to infrastructure backed yield through decentralized platforms.
He also links the strategy to broader stablecoin growth beyond dollar dominance. Solar farms operate across multiple regions, which creates opportunities for euro or pound denominated borrowing. This structure could support deeper liquidity in non dollar stablecoin markets.
Kulechov positions Aave as a potential bridge between crypto capital and large scale energy infrastructure. Even a modest share of global solar financing moving onchain would represent trillions in collateral value. He suggests that connecting DeFi liquidity with productive infrastructure may define the sector’s next growth phase.
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