Noob here, read OP but for some reason this is not clicking with me. At risk of sounding silly can someone really do a writeup dumbing this concept down for rest of us? I think as being a Noob to this coin, information, or incentives to hold, mine, buy are not clear to me enough.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around this $20 bucks a coin thing people keep talking about? I'm unsure if this is random number target or something based on something.
Here, I'll do my best. Basically the long-term vision and goal of SolarCoin is for solar panels to be like money-printing machines. If you generate clean renewable solar electricity, which benefits the environment and has economic value, you will receive a reward, like a subsidy, for doing so. When the technology is developed, the reward will be
automatically granted to the owner of each solar panel based on data transmitted from the solar panel into the blockchain about how much energy it's generating. Until that happens, the grants are being made manually based on how much energy each panel is expected and certified to create (nameplate capacity).
The $20 target value for SolarCoin is based on the value of 1 megawatt-hour of solar electricity. Since 1 SLR is granted for every 1 MWh generated, in theory the price will tend to rise to the point of value of that unit. Think of it as that SLR is pegged to the value of solar electricity, like how some currencies in the past have been pegged to the value of gold. This value won't be realized though until millions of solar electricity generators are participating in the SolarCoin program. Until then, the price will tend to go up gradually from where it is now, as more people get involved in the SLR monetary system, invest in it, use the currency, etc.
I hope that brief explanation is helpful.