Blockchain holds key to reinventing energy grid - battery storage systems

Solar technology and battery storage are very important.
But what is missing is a technology of organization and cooperation.
Coordinate and ensure a true peerto-Peer-to-peer power grid.
Breakthrough in solar technology
Battery technology has led to greater diversity of locally generated renewable energy, and the basic model is still broken: local utilities capture excess power in their supply, reallocating at wholesale prices, usually
This post was jointly posted.
Written with Alex Tapscott.
In the near future, the Internet of Things (IoT) will enable billions of smart devices to perceive, respond, communicate and share data.
These things will also have the ability to generate and buy and sell their own electricity.
Now imagine if every capable family-
A lot of such things-
Power generation and storage power access to automated peer-to-peer devicesto-
Conduct peer-to-peer transactions with neighbors or sell power back to the grid at market prices, rather than through a third transactionparty utility.
But first of all, given the aging of today's energy grid, it started in the industrial age ---
A large central power source that broadcasts power to a "dumb" appliance.
This will have to change.
We need a power grid that is scattered and full of smart devices so that everyone can contribute.
In addition, all of these devices and the people who use them need a way to buy and sell power, trade and cooperate in a cooperative way.
More and more power strategists are turning to a surprising new technology: Blockchain--
The underlying, peer-to-peerto-
Peer-to-peer technology that supports, tracks, verifies and records digital transactions and currencies such as Bitcoin. Here's why.
Today, most homeowners, businesses, governments and other organizations in North American cities gain power from regulated utilities at regulated prices.
There are great flaws in this approach.
First of all, it is inefficient.
A large amount of energy is lost due to heat from the plant or long distance transmission, pushing up prices and generating a huge carbon footprint.
Second, it is too concentrated and easy to fail, an uncomfortable reality that anyone who has experienced a power outage in the northeast of 2003 or Hurricane Sandy in New York is familiar.
In the end, consumers are powerless (no pun intended) because they have no choice to accept forever
Higher power rates.
Breakthrough in solar technology
Battery technology and battery storage have led to greater diversity of locally generated renewable energy, and the basic model is still broken: local utilities capture excess power in their supply, reallocating at wholesale prices often has quite a leak.
Consumers may have neighbors with local power supplies, but still have to pay full retail fees for renewable energy through utilities.
It's ridiculous.
Solar technology and battery storage are very important.
But what is missing is a technology of organization and cooperation.
Coordinate and ensure a true peerto-Peer-to-peer power grid.
Blockchain is the key.
Millions of families can become self-agents, automatically signing contracts with the highest bidder.
For potentially millions of distributed power supplies, the system needs to keep track of everything, including the ability to authenticate each node in the network ---
To ensure its reliability, that's why blockchain is critical to all of this.
This is not science fiction.
It has happened today.
Not command-and-
"The control system that utilities now have, a few people are actually running the utility grid, and you can design the grid and let it run on its own," Lawrence Orsini said . " LO3 Energy is co-founder and principal of space pioneer.
"The network becomes more resilient because all the assets in the grid are helping to maintain and run it.
"This is a distributed peer-to-peer network. to-
Peer-to-peer IoT model with intelligent contracts (execution and self-
Use software instead of people) and other controls designed to the asset itself.
This time, when a hurricane destroys a transmission tower or a fire destroys a substation, the power grid can quickly and automatically rewire the power to prevent large-scale power outages.
Resilience is not the only benefit.
Locally generated electricity, used locally, is much more efficient than utilities-
Proportional model, which relies on the transmission of energy at a long distance where the energy is lost.
LO3 Energy recently partnered with Consensus Systems to launch its first ever Micro
Grid projects using blockchain technology on park slopes in New York. The so-
The so-called TransActive Grid matches the home that generates electricity with the home that needs it, and automatically performs sales using smart contractsto-
No one is involved.
April 11, 2016 is likely to be considered one of the pioneering moments in the history of electrical innovation, similar to the first lamp of Thomas Edisonbulb tests.
On that day, the Brooklyn micro-grid hosted the first ever peerto-
Peer deals on renewable energy in the world's blockchain.
Since that day, LO3 has signed up for more than 130 buildings, and the day is still growing.
Support from the city and its key stakeholders is overwhelming.
"So instead of paying for an energy service company that buys renewable energy credit, you pay for those who are actually generating electricity for your house," Orsinin said . ".
"It's local and green and actually has an impact on the environment around you.
It looks more fair, right?
"While increasing renewable energy generation at the local level, the Internet of Things is challenging regulated utility models, not too fast.
We need our power grids and engines to not leak energy and carbon into the atmosphere.
When utilities are considering the benefits of the internet of things to their existing infrastructure (so-
"Smart Grid" connecting block chains"
The micro-grid enabled may bring a new energy model.
Utilities, trade unions, regulatory agencies and policies
Manufacturers should explore these new models of generating, distributing and using electricity.
"The potential for transfer from across the country --
Controlling energy companies to the locally managed trading grid provides a significant opportunity to change the entire concept of energy consumption.
It's good for our pockets, but the most important thing is good for our planet . "
Toronto is often described as a community City.
Indeed, Toronto's community and its strong community, identity, and local advocates and organizers may be the pioneers, security and prosperous future we need to create a future energy network for more sustainable development.
But that requires leadership.
Orsini said, "last week, we took the meter off the wall and put it in people's hands.
It depends on you where we go from here.
Don Tapscott and his son Alex Tapscott are the authors of the book Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin changes money, business and the world.
The song first appeared on the Toronto Star.
Follow @ dtapscott and @ alextapscott on twitter.