Renewable Energy and Resources

Blockchain technology

Blockchain technology has the potential to transform the energy sector. The energy industry has been consistently catalyzed by innovations including rooftop solar, electric vehicles, and smart metering. Now, the Enterprise Ethereum blockchain presents itself as the next emerging technology to spur growth in the energy sector through its smart contracts and systems interoperability. Of the many use cases for blockchain, energy and sustainability are often less recognized. However, the World Economic Forum, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, and PwC released a joint report identifying more than 65 existing and emerging blockchain use-cases for the environment. These use cases include new business models for energy markets, real-time data management, and moving carbon credits or renewable energy certificates onto the blockchain.Distributed ledger technology has the potential to improve efficiencies for utility providers by tracking the chain of custody for grid materials. Beyond provenance tracking, blockchain offers unique solutions for renewable energy distribution.