Blockchain as a deliverer of trust in the energy sector

Blockchain is enabling new business models but also demanding new data responsibilities and hardware requirements, a Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC) report reads.

The report, prepared with Australian energy sector blockchain pioneer Powerledger, states that commitments to meet the Paris Agreement are highlighting the need for new business models in the energy market, where blockchain technology can greatly facilitate real-time data management and verify the authenticity of decarbonisation claims.

Blockchain technology also ensures that once verified, unauthorised changes are not made.

Describing the rise of blockchain and its applications as one of the most striking innovations of the last 10 years, the report highlights how the technology can enable trust in the digital world with a trustless system based on an open and immutable distributed data repository.

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This ledger is updated as new records are added with all participants in the network having access to the latest version.

With trust in the use of energy resources key for their management, a transparent and enhanced ledger undergirded by blockchain technology can facilitate a broader range of transactions supporting energy distribution and trade, improving access to clean energy and accountability in the process, the report states.

Democratisation can also put individuals at the centre of the energy transition, allocating incentives and economic benefits to individuals and under-represented communities by enabling fractional ownership of energy assets, empowering individuals in their energy consumption choices, peer-to-peer trading, and energy investment opportunities at the retail level.

The report identifies seven energy sector use cases for the blockchain:
● Peer-2-peer (P2P) trading of decentralised energy
● Local energy markets
● Demand response and wholesale energy market trading
● Renewable energy certificates (RECs)
● 24/7 carbon free energy
● Metering and billing
● Grid management
● Electric vehicle charging.

In conclusion of the report, Blockchain technology for the energy sector, states that the green energy transition will benefit from a predictable source of clean energy that is transparently accounted for and easy to manage. A transparent platform is key to manage the grid securely and effectively.

The conclusion also addresses two issues that are not commonly discussed. One is around responsibility in a decentralised financial model with the responsibility for custody and safekeeping using virtual wallets lying on the individual.

The other is around security, with security likely to shift to individual customers and the digital wallets they utilise to make transactions. It is likely that new hardware and software will be designed, either or both by phone companies and blockchain companies.

An example is Solana’s soon to be released Android web 3-enabled SAGA mobile device, including Solana blockchain integration.

With the trend towards decentralised data, both software and hardware, e.g. phones, with the highest level of security and reliability will be in demand. In this context, a race to create phones and other necessary equipment to facilitate web 3.0 will be inevitable, the report suggests.