Castle Plaza’s rooftop solar. Image: Vicinity (supplied).

Key Points:

The trial will begin at Castle Plaza Shopping Centre in South Australia as part of Vicinity’s $75 million industry-leading solar program.

Vicinity will be able to see and manage energy consumption across the network, using real-time data.

Power Ledger’s technology enables Vicinity to use its solar energy and trade energy within the network or send it back to the national grid to be consumed by others.

In April, Vicinity rolled out the largest investment in Australia for rooftop solar in shopping centres with a $28 million project in South Australia and Western Australia.

Vicinity Centres (Vicinity) today announced a trial of blockchain technology that, in the future, will enable Vicinity’s shopping centres to supply energy to neighbouring communities who connect to its secure power network.

The trial will begin at Castle Plaza in South Australia and will be the first centre to integrate the energy blockchain technology as part of Vicinity’s $75 million industry-leading solar program.

The blockchain technology, being trialled in partnership with Australian energy technology company, Power Ledger, will enable Vicinity to manage its energy use and distribution in real-time, switching between solar and national grid energy.

Executive General Manager, Shopping Centre Management, Justin Mills said: “Vicinity is one of the first property companies in Australia to be trialling energy blockchain technology and we’re committed to continuing that leadership through our integrated energy strategy.

“We see our partnership with Power Ledger as a significant opportunity to unlock a future of more competitive energy prices for our retailers and customers while potentially sharing clean, renewable energy

to the communities surrounding our centres,” Mr Mills said.

Mr Mills said the future of energy is about creating interconnected communities, including on-site generation, which is why peer-to-peer energy trading would also be considered as part of Vicinity’s mixed-use strategy, with a significant development pipeline of projects in planning.

Power Ledger Managing Director and Co-founder David Martin said: “Vicinity has proven to be an industry leader when it comes to renewable energy which is why the introduction of blockchain technology makes sense to its business.

“It’s a smart solution for Vicinity as they pioneer the new energy economy.”

In April, Vicinity rolled out the largest investment in Australia for rooftop solar in shopping centres with a $28 million project in South Australia and Western Australia.