According to experts from tech consultancy, Booz Allen Hamilton, the renewable energy markets across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) can be made more secure and cost-efficient using the blockchain.
Blockchain and Renewable Energy Markets
Cointelegraph details the GCC as a “regional political and economic union that includes all the Arab states of the Persian Gulf except Iraq.”
This body—comprised of six countries—is planning to increase its renewable energy capacity across all member states by 2030. This means a boost of 80 gigawatts of energy and accounts for more than half of the group’s existing capacity.
And this is where blockchain technology can reportedly help. Booz Allen Hamilton has named blockchain technology as the most capable innovation to cope with the “considerable technical, governance and institutional challenges ahead.”
Such a challenge indeed lies ahead, not only for GCC but the entire globe. The world has an initiative underway to generate 50% of its energy from renewable sources by 2050.
Booz Allen Hamilton
Dr. Adham Sleiman of Booz Allen Hamilton, Middle East and North Africa, argues that blockchain is more suited to the renewable energy sector than most. This system is based on transactions between electricity usage and fares, and currently, it relies on utility operators or a central body.
Distributed Energy Resources (DER) are rising in popularity. This is a system whereby a variety of small “grid-connected or distribution system connected devices” generate and store electricity in a decentralized network.
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This type of structure is already “tending toward greater intrinsic decentralization.”
Sleiman said regarding DERs:
“DER are changing the landscape; we are moving towards a more decentralised grid, where utilities no longer fully control the system. Utilities now need to look beyond energy delivery. Blockchain applications can help with enabling P2P energy trading, tracking renewable energy, and articulating smart contracts.”
The body is trying to move forward in this manner, using blockchain innovation for the transactions involved in energy. The technology has the ability to cause “a major disruptive change that the energy sector may face within the next 10 years.”
But what do you think? It seems that there are no industries that blockchain technology can’t help with. Is it the way forward for renewable energy?
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