Thailand’s PTT Builds Blockchain-Based Renewables Energy Platform

PTT, the Thai state-owned gas and oil firm, and Energy Web Foundation, a blockchain energy nonprofit organization, have collaborated to develop a blockchain-based renewables platform.

According to a press release shared by them, the two firms are jointly building a regional solution based on the Energy Web Chain. The newly developed product will be amendable with the International Renewable Energy Certificate (I-REC) Standard, which is known for certifying renewable energy sources.

I-REC certificate demand

Producers of energy will be enabled to apply for the I-REC tracking certificates by an issuer appointed by a trade organization or government. After the tickets are submitted to a central registry, energy purchasers and suppliers can verify the renewable origin of energy vindicating those certificates.

In 2018, Thailand had purportedly produced nearly 28 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of clean electricity, and only 0.16 million I-REC MWh were issued. Jesse Morris, the CEO of EWF said that a blockchain platform will assist them in connecting the demand and supply for the certificates.

The senior executive vice president of digital innovation at PTT, Worawat Pitayasiri, noted that the platform will drastically help the corporate renewable energy developers and buyers, further adding:

“It will better match demand with available supply, help corporate buyers to achieve their sustainability goals more easily, create a supplemental revenue stream for already-operating renewable energy assets, and unlock new investment in additional renewable energy throughout the region.”

Peer-to-peer energy platforms gain traction

Recently, Power Ledger, an Australian blockchain energy start-up, released its pilot product of peer-to-peer energy trading technology for the rural areas to assist farms and outlying commercial settlements to reduce the associated cost and improve on the efficiency of their power grid.

As reported earlier by Blockchain Magazine, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) funded $1.05 million to organizations that are working on commercializing a platform for blockchain-based energy transaction.

At that point, the chairman of the department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Denver, Dr. Amin Khodaei, stated:

“The growing proliferation of distributed energy resources calls for advanced management frameworks that support peer-to-peer communications while being fast, scalable and secure […] Now is the time to develop and demonstrate the technologies that can make a more sustainable and resilient future possible.”