Blockchain energy
Recent days have seen WePower make strong inroads in its green energy ambitions, having successfully completed its blockchain-based trial to tokenize the entire energy grid of Estonia.
Since the completion of its ICO in February 2018 — notably understood to be the largest ever in the energy sector raising $40 million thanks to over 22,000 contributors — many in the energy sector have looked forward to the next chapter in WePower’s progress.
The Estonian ideal
In terms of a testing ground, Estonia is an ideal nation for WePower’s trial. With 100% smart meter coverage and Estfeed — the nation’s data sharing platform — providing a strong infrastructure foundation. Estfeed as a standalone is another terrific example of Estonia’s pioneering work in the tech sector.
As other nations remain analog when it comes to consumer engagement in their energy sectors, the work of Estfeed is not only delivering results for Estonians but is an initiative to be observed from abroad and imitated. This is part of a broader trend where smaller European countries are taking the technological initiative while their bigger brothers and sisters remain stuck in the mud, progress wise.
The work of WePower
The initial results of WePower’s trial showed the creation of a 39 billion Smart Energy Tokens, following the successful upload of 26,0000 hours and 24TWh of energy consumption data to the blockchain. At the heart of this trial is not only a terrific achievement for WePower, but also proof positive of the potential for greater research and inquiry in this space. With WePower’s pioneering work as a platform, there is the opportunity to develop models that more effectively integrate green energy with the grid and to bring a new dynamic to energy sectors that have so often operated in a silo culture, frustrating the capacity for growth and innovation around them. Â
This achievement is notable not only for what it has achieved in blockchain, but also for the debate it is driving in the global energy sector. The push towards green energy and the shift away from fossil fuels has long been underway.
The broader conversation
While the green energy movement is viewed as necessary by anyone not in the pocket of oil and gas, it is also one that comes amidst a wider political debate that has seen numerous nations wrestle with soaring energy costs and issues surrounding blackouts and supply quality.
For many nations in the energy sector, there is the need to strike a balance between competing factors as it looks to the future, such as the need to shift towards green energy, the need to adopt green energy that is secure and reliable, and (for advocates of the change seeking to convince doubters and critics), the capacity to prove the new energy form is cost effective and capable of offering new economic opportunities to replace the productivity lost from the fossil fuel sector.
While the efforts of WePower (and similar blockchain-based initiatives) won’t eliminate the challenges of carbon energy overnight, but in proving there is the capacity to drive new innovation and progress in this space, it will serve to show there is not only an environmental case for the shift to green energy, but an economic one too.
