Bonnie Christian for Wired:  How we distribute, store and generate energy is undergoing a massive disruption. Startups in the energy sector are leading the way into a new era of sustainable and renewable energy and storage, with a mission to target the parts of the world that lack access to it the most. At this year’s WIRED Energy conference, some of the sector's most innovative early-stage companies pitched their ideas.

BuffaloGrid

BuffaloGrid hubs aim to help connect the next billion people who currently have no access to power. Of those, 650 million have mobile phones. By bringing mobile and power to people who are off the grid, they’re making a push against the next digital divide. Through its hub - a large powerpack attached to a solar panel - those people can plug in their phones and recharge them. Co-founder Daniel Becerra launched BuffaloGrid in 2015 and the service now runs in 20 villages in India where shops use the hub to provide their customers with power. “We provide our hubs for free to local entrepreneurs who sell services from the hub and receive a share of the revenue,” Becerra says. Where’s it going next? The aim is to cover more than half a million people in India in 2018.  Full Article: