The young man trying to bring solar energy to rural areas and cities

One day, Luis Plata Cavazos installed a mobile power plant with solar panels in a rural community that had no electricity. That day, he brought power to a school that had never switched a light bulb on.

Luis grew up in Allende, Nuevo León. In the state capital of Monterrey, he studied an energy specialty at Tec de Monterrey’s EGADE Business School with the dream of making electric power accessible.

By then, Luis and his partner Jesús Salazar had rejected job offers so that their energy company Girasolve could have a big impact, something they were pursuing at the time.

That day, at that school, was different. They turned the equipment on, and the silence was broken by cheering. The lights were reflected in the eyes of the children, who saw electricity in their classrooms for the first time.

“That reaction of surprise from teachers and children (when they saw) that they had electricity after never having had it, some of them not even in their homes, has been the most rewarding thing in my life,” says Luis.

Their goal: to produce electricity from the Sun without polluting the environment

“Sunny” is the name Luis and Jesús gave to the equipment they seek to market today through their companies Girasolve México and Girasolve Energy USA. 

It is a mobile power plant that uses solar panels instead of fossil fuel such as gasoline.

They both think that this solar equipment can be used in rural communities, in camps, and in outdoor activities, without generating noise or carbon dioxide, that is, without polluting the environment. 

“Sunny” came later, due to the needs of their customers, but that solar plant for the community of La Purísima in China, Nuevo León, was the basis of the project.

The companies were started when Luis was studying engineering. Together with three friends, he decided to put aside a stable job and dedicate himself to entrepreneurship. 

Their original idea, which the name Girasolve comes from, was to create solar panels that would move to find the sun to obtain more energy, as sunflowers do. Sunflowers are called girasoles in Spanish, hence the name.

The dream of helping people got off to a rocky start

Their project began in 2015 with movable solar panels that “searched” for the sun, but these four young people came up against a market that wasn’t paying for innovation.

“We participated in innovation competitions, but we lost them. We improved the prototype, but at one point we were out of money, and we didn’t sell anything,” Luis recalls.

Without generating sales, without obtaining funds from the competitions, and having already invested their money, they began to run up debts.

“We had bad streaks and two partners left the company. My partner Jesús Salazar and I decided to keep going, so we had the idea that maybe our clients didn’t want movable panels, but only solar panels.

“We needed money, as we had quit our jobs and missed out on very good job opportunities”.

Not abandoning their venture has helped the planet

The 27-year-old businessman laughs when he remembers the time when it seemed that he would not succeed and says that not giving up was the best decision that Jesús and he could have made at that time.

“We were both doing well. We had job offers with a future, and here we had no security. In one month, we sold 4 panels and nothing more, but we didn’t give up and we became more confident in ourselves.

Today, the businessman mentions that his venture has gone from selling 4 panels in a month to installing more than 4,800 in Mexico and the United States, avoiding 656,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions. 

“In the past, people didn’t have cellphones and smartphones because they were very expensive, but now they’ve dropped in price, and anyone can have them. 

“I want the same thing to happen with clean energy. We want to give access to people who cannot afford it with financial models and banks, but I want to contribute even more to make it happen.”

Creating one of the largest solar parking lots in Nuevo León

The “Sunny” mobile solar plant became one of their projects after they supported that community by bringing electricity to the rural school.

“We’re still hungry to innovate. There are people who go fishing, hunting, or camping and their only option is a battery or a gasoline power plant. 

“We’re also thinking about remote places where there are no gas stations or rural schools and communities where they have to walk kilometers to get gasoline as well as pay for it,” says Luis.

The key was to innovate on the service for 6 years, which led them to grow, says Luis smiling.

At the same time as developing “Sunny,” Luis says that they have signed agreements with businesses such as supermarkets, restaurants, and shopping centers to install solar panels.

“We installed more than a thousand solar panels in a parking lot at a wholesale food market called ‘La Estrella.’ Now it’s the largest in Nuevo León, and I think even in Mexico,” he says.

Luis explains that the parking lot also includes electric car chargers for brands such as Tesla, BMW, and Lincoln, so the people who go there can charge their cars. 

“We installed more than a thousand solar panels in the parking lot. Now it’s the largest in Nuevo Leon, and I think even in Mexico.”

Young man recognized in Mexico and abroad

During his time as a student and as an entrepreneur, Luis began to receive some recognitions for his career and work, such as the State Youth Award in Nuevo León, where he participated on behalf of the city of Allende.

“When I got to the government palace, they told me that no one from Allende had ever won. I was sad because they sat me down with my family just behind me. I was thinking, ‘What am I doing here?’ but then they mentioned my name,” says Luis.

In 2013, he participated in the One Young World forum for young leaders, which took him to South Africa with figures such as billionaire businessman Richard Branson.

He was also one of the 8 winners throughout the continent in the Global Innovation Award held by the Organization of American States (OAS).

He also made a 6-month stay in Washington, D.C. as part of a bilateral program between the governments of then-presidents Barack Obama of the United States and Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico.

“When I returned from Washington, I spent a few days in Mexico. After winning the OAS award, I was sent to South Korea to study and live there in Seoul.

“It changed my life and left a mark on me. But more than any document, the most rewarding thing has been that school in China, Nuevo León. It was a very moving project,” he says.

In December 2021, he was recognized for his career in the Entrepreneurial Ingenuity category of the National Youth Award, in category B, which recognizes young people between 18 and 29 years old.

“More than any document, the most rewarding thing has been that school in China, Nuevo León. It was a very moving project.”

The dream of providing energy solutions

After studying engineering at the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, Luis enrolled for a master’s degree in Energy Management at EGADE Business School with a 100% scholarship.

“At EGADE, I developed my ability to solve problems from a broader perspective. I learned to think in a more disruptive way, raising my expectations and my level of discipline.

“It was great being able to study at both universities. They complemented and enriched each other. The Tec is very demanding. It has very advanced and innovative tools and raises your expectations,” he says.

Remembering the reaction of the teachers and students when they saw their school lit up is something that brings Luis a little closer to fulfilling his dream.

“It’s a dream for me. I want to feel the satisfaction of having made a contribution to the area of energy solutions for people. 

“We did it in a school. We didn’t change the world, but it’s a first step,” concludes Luis, with a smile.

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