Power Ledger partners with Delhi’s largest electricity distributor for P2P solar trial
By the numbers, Delhi may be one of the crown jewels of the future P2P solar energy market.
Power Ledger, the blockchain-based peer-to-peer energy trading platform and cryptocurrency, has partnered with BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), the largest electricity distribution company in Delhi, to trial a peer-to-peer solar trading scheme.
The trial will comprise some 5-6MW (very roughly enough to power 5,000 to 6,000 homes) of existing solar infrastructure, which services communities in the Dwarka sub-city of Delhi.
During this trial, residents with rooftop solar can sell excess solar energy to their neighbours, rather than just letting it overflow. The end result should be cheaper renewable energy for consumers in the region and more money for those with home solar. This in turn helps fund more rooftop solar and gives more people a reason to get it at home if conditions suit.
This is the same dynamic that won Power Ledger a recent large scale commercial rollout in South Australia.
Note: Solar service not available in the Northern Territory, Tasmania and Western Australia.
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The statistical epicentre
But right now, India may have a special case for Power Ledger. In some ways, it's almost like the statistical crown jewel of peer-to-peer solar trading.
In 2018, global demand for energy grew at its fastest rate in a decade, while demand for energy in India is growing faster than any other large economy. The country is expected to be the world's largest driver of energy-demand growth.
In an effort to meet demand, ideally without too many further contributions to Delhi's persistent smog, the Indian Government's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has set a target of installing 175GW of renewable energy capacity across the country by 2022. That capacity includes a hefty 40GW of grid-connected rooftop solar panels in Delhi and the surrounding area.
As such, right now, Delhi is potentially one of the most significant places in the world for some kind of peer-to-peer home solar energy marketplace.
"With the exponential growth in our economy and production, the ability to generate clean energy and utilise it across India without the need for a fully centralised grid is critical," said BRPL CEO Amal Sinha. "Realising the importance of distributed generation, we have already built an extensive renewables infrastructure, and this trial with Power Ledger will help us fully utilise that energy."
"Although we’ve already initiated several successful P2P energy trading projects across the globe, this partnership with BRPL provides an opportunity to really scale to an enterprise-style application and provide a guide for policy development in Delhi," said Power Ledger head of business development and sales Vinod Tiwari. "Since our inception, our aim for our P2P platform has been to support energy retailers in better managing their demand and supply, and encourage renewable energy adoption. This project will be a working example of these concepts in action."
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Disclosure: The author holds BNB, BTC at the time of writing.
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