Solar power on blockchain in rural Australia

Solar power generated by companies in the countryside of Western Australia can now be sold to other companies. Australian blockchain startup Power Ledger has setup a blockchain peer-to-peer platform for solar farms to monetize their surplus of solar energy. The blockchain company announced their work in a blog post. As a result there's less energy waste and local companies save money.

The project has been setup in cooperation with Innovations Central Midlands WA Inc, BSC Solar, Sonnen and CleanTech Energy. Commercial buildings can trade excess solar power between each other. As a result energy becomes cheaper and there's less energy waste. Normally the companies would put the energy back on the grid without any financial compensation. This is because local energy companies don't pay for it.

The energy platform will facilitate energy trading between several participants, which includes shire offices, CRC/Visitor Centre, a swimming pool, medical centre, sports centre, and a couple of local companies. Even though the current platform is only a trial, everybody seems positive about the new technology.

“We now have the ability to generate power from our rooftops, from renewable sources — and the existing energy system needs to transition or face an increasing crisis of relevance. If successful, which we believe it will be, this could revolutionise the way rural energy systems operate."

David Martin, co-founder Power Ledger

Power Ledger has active projects in Western Australia metropolitan areas. On top of that the company is active in countries like Austria, Thailand, Japan and the United States. In addition several Western Australian shires have contacted Power Ledger. They are interested in their blockchain technology.

Green energy on the blockchain with wind and solar power

The work of Power Ledger is great, but it doesn't stand on its own. There are multiple companies active in this field. IOTA already has a blockchain system to provide electricity to electric cars. They are even talking about incorporating their technology in giant wind parks.

On top of that The Republic of San Marino is going to reward green citizens with crypto. They partnered with VeChain to accomplish this. Bosch is building blockchain-powered fridges that automatically switch between wind and solar energy, while IKEA has been making concepts of solar-powered blockchain villages. One can conclude that green energy, energy distribution and blockchain technology work very well together.