Choice Solar targets iPhone

Demand for solar charging options by iPhone users is bringing Choice Solar from India to the U.S.

The Portland-based company specializes in small-scale solar power products.

Choice Solar India, formed in 2008 by Hewlett-Packard veterans Ravi Sinha and Katherine Cleland, is owned by Portland-based holding company Choice Solutions Corp. Choice Solar's website shows solar-powered lanterns and rooftop solar panels in rural and urban India.

Choice will start selling its solar-powered cell phone charger in the U.S. this week, a product clamored for by iPhone users eager to charge their phones in coffee shops without plugging in.

"It's almost against all odds," said Sinha, a Blackberry user, who is somewhat bewildered by the demand for a product he intended for use in a setting with spotty electricity service. "We didn't think there was a demand for it in the U.S. We were wrong."

Read more at Sustainable Business Oregon.

{biztweet}choice solar{/biztweet}