How Does Blockchain Integration Impact Renewable Energy Procurement?

As society increases its focus on going green, businesses are exploring their options for renewable energy. 

Blockchain integration’s impact on renewable energy procurement is a popular topic of discussion for companies seeking to go green while cutting costs. Green energy integration isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind when discussing the capabilities of blockchain technology, but this innovative, decentralized solution is making quite an impact. 

If you want to learn more about blockchain integration and its impact on renewable energy, keep reading or call Navigate Power at 1-800-541-1137.

How Blockchain Is Used in Renewable Energy Procurement

So, what is blockchain technology’s relationship to renewable energy procurement? First, let’s define it. 

Blockchain operates as a digital, decentralized ledger that records transactions using multiple computers. This decentralized technology means that there is no central intermediary, which creates records that you can’t alter or manipulate. 

In its simplest form, blockchain offers greater security because it makes transactions more resistant to hackers. So, how does this help companies looking to reduce carbon emissions? 

Blockchain Promotes Renewable Energy Trading

Blockchain technology makes it possible to establish a peer-to-peer energy trading platform where parties can buy and sell renewable energy. These types of relationships can streamline the energy investment process and reduce reliance on alternative power suppliers. 

Many companies are already taking advantage of decentralized energy systems. For example, a company in Australia called Power Ledger uses a blockchain platform that monitors users’ energy consumption and production while ensuring transparent yet secure executions. This platform also allows users, such as homeowners and companies, to sell off their excess solar power. 

Additional Read: Energy Contracts: Everything You Need to Know About Them

Blockchain Technology Could Make Grid Integration Possible

Integrating renewable energy into our existing grids can potentially create problems with energy supply and demand. However, blockchain technology could make integration possible by creating a more efficient grid that balances this supply and demand. Germany is already starting to explore these possibilities with the Microgrid project.

Germany’s Microgrid project utilizes blockchain technology to create a peer-to-peer platform, like the one we mentioned above, that allows homeowners to sell their excess energy. Since they can often sell this energy to their neighbors, homeowners using this blockchain-enabled platform are taking greater steps in promoting renewable energy.

What Are the Benefits of Blockchain in Energy Trading?

Blockchain technology’s strengths lie in its ability to support transparent and secure transactions. This decentralized structure essentially eliminates the need for a middleman, offering energy companies and consumers a greater opportunity to pursue renewable energy solutions and greater energy efficiency. However, blockchain integration’s impact on renewable energy procurement doesn’t end there. 

Higher Cost-Efficiency

No energy procurement is without costs. Let’s take oil as an example. 

Oil acquisition involves several steps, from exploring potential sites to refining and transporting the collected oil. Each step comes with a cost, ultimately determining the consumer’s final bill. 

Blockchain technology offers greater organization for each step of the renewable energy procurement process. By expediting workflows and addressing inefficiencies, it has the potential to significantly cut costs.

Innovative and Decentralized Programmability

The peer-to-peer platforms we mentioned above operate independently since they use blockchain’s decentralized technology. These networks allow for more transparent and secure transactions between users. 

This decentralized programmability could help pursue smart grid infrastructures and allow users to connect directly to the grid.

Enhanced Energy Transparency

Since blockchain ledgers make it increasingly difficult for alterations or manipulations, they offer greater clarity and security for network users with their own copies of the ledger. This enhanced clarity could be vital for energy companies, as it offers greater data protection and can help promote regulatory compliance. 

How Does Blockchain Impact Electricity Data Management?

Data manipulation is a primary concern for energy companies and consumers. Blockchain technology offers a solution that protects electricity data via secure ledgers. These unchangeable ledgers can include vital energy-related data, including:

· Market prices

· Energy law compliance

· Marginal costs

· Fuel prices

· Real-time updates

Any sort of error or misrepresentation of the data above can lead to severe consequences for businesses and even government institutions. Blockchain technology makes it almost impossible to omit essential data or alter it, offering greater protection and transparency.

How Is Blockchain Used for Sustainability?

When discussing blockchain integration’s impact on renewable energy procurement, or more specifically, sustainability, it’s essential to talk about carbon credits. Carbon credits are basically permits that allow the owner (often a corporation or manufacturing plant) to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses into the air. 

If the owner emits an amount of greenhouse gasses that exceeds what their permit allows, they must purchase additional credits. Meanwhile, companies that have purchased too many carbon credits can sell them to other parties who need to purchase more. This is where blockchain technology comes in. 

Additional Read: Will the Natural Gas Business Still Be Big in 20 years?

Blockchain technology creates a decentralized platform that makes it possible to verify and track these transactions. Since the goal of carbon credits is to reduce overall carbon emissions, blockchain offers promising opportunities for sustainability pursuits by making the carbon credit-trading market more transparent. 

How Does Blockchain Impact the Oil and Gas Industry?

While thousands of companies make up the world’s oil and gas industry, we can dive them into three main categories:

1. Upstream: Companies that find and extract resources

2. Midstream: Companies that store and transport resources

3. Downstream: Companies companies, majors (large companies), and independents. All these stakeholders work together to run the upstream component of the industry, which requires quite a lot of data and coordination. Blockchain streamlines these communications and allows for wide-scale organization. 

Meanwhile, midstream companies have the important job of not just transporting oil and gas resources but also mitigating any disasters that result from this transportation. Companies in this sector often communicate with each other and share important information that can help in these areas, which blockchain helps with by offering transparent asset tracking and information sharing between multiple parties. 

Finally, downstream companies take on the task of managing multiple different products that come from these resources. Blockchain allows for greater coordination and supply chain optimization, which can also help reduce overall waste.

How Does Blockchain Impact Utility Providers?

Utility providers generate energy from solar farms, power plants, or other potential sources. Since these companies often don’t compete with each other, they tend to share a lot of information and data, which is where blockchain that refine the resources and sell them to the final users

When it comes to the upstream part of the industry, the primary stakeholders are oilfield services, national oil technology can help. 

Blockchain can secure and validate this data while organizing transactions between utility providers. It can also create a scheme for participating parties to execute different energy purchases.

Join Navigate Power in Transforming Renewable Energy Procurement With Blockchain

Blockchain technology is undoubtedly taking the world by storm. Among the many potential opportunities it offers is streamlined and more secure renewable energy procurement. From creating more transparent transactions to establishing peer-to-peer networks for energy exchanges, blockchain integration’s impact on renewable energy procurement is vast. 

If you’re interested in learning more about renewable energy procurement, Navigate Power has years of experience and ample knowledge of the ever-changing renewable energy market. Call 1-800-541-1137 to learn more about what we do.