New Pilot Project For Renewable Energy Trading on Blockchain

By Prashant Jha

Clearway Energy Group, a firm based out of US is reportedly starting a new pilot program to facilitate renewable energy trading using blockchain. Renewable energy can help us streamline our responses to the climate change concerns and even address the urgent need of the hour to safeguard our environment. The use of blockchain technology seems to be an interesting way to enable the same.

The Clearway Energy Group has partnered with Power Ledger, a blockchain company that works to make peer-to-peer energy trades possible through the use of rooftop solar panels. According to the reports, the company has earlier worked on projects that involved the generation of energy of about 1 to 5 megawatts in Massachusetts, and 20 megawatts in the Midwest.

Dr. Jemma Green, the Chairman and Co-founder of Power Ledger talked about how the US Renewable Energy Certificates or RECs are estimated to be valued at more than 3 billion US dollars. On top of this, around 3-10% is usually charged as a transaction cost. Dr. Green said that although this makes sure that there can be a digital avenue of keeping a record of the certificates, it also leads to additional and somewhat unnecessary costs, especially as brokers and bilateral contracts emerge across state lines.

The new blockchain platform has been designed in such a way so as to confront these challenges. The services will be extended from the early part of next year, after thorough testing has been conducted. On 18th June of this year, Power Ledger had announced that it was launching a peer-to-peer power trading network for its users in Australia.

Blockchain does a great deal of good and this project seems to be the latest addition to that long list.

Prashant Jha

As a content writer Prashant believes in presenting complex topics in simple laymen terms. He is a tech enthusiast and an avid reader.

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