Peer to peer energy trading is becoming a key part of green policies around the world.

Australian blockchain startup Power Ledger has partnered with French energy retailer ekWateur to bring an energy trading scheme to 220,000 electricity meters in France.

That's equivalent to 220 electricity kilometers.

Jokes aside, that makes it Power Ledger's largest project to date, as well as a world first in letting customers choose their own energy source as verified by blockchain.

"Power Ledger has proven the technology works and now we’re ready for a full scale country rollout in what will be our largest project to date. This also marks a world-first in energy trading, with customers able to select their energy mix, knowing it’s certified via an immutable blockchain platform," said Power Ledger executive chairman Jemma Green.

"Whether consumers want to source energy from their neighbour’s solar rooftop panels, or a wind farm in Bordeaux, our platform gives consumers choice and control over their energy source," said Dr Green.

The details

The system will go live across ekWateur's network by the end of 2020. With it, customers will be able to choose what type of renewable energy they want to purchase, as well as select the verified sources to get it from.

The energy will be traceable in 30-minute intervals.

In its second stage, the project will enable customers to buy and sell excess energy using Power Ledger's new product, "Vision".

Between these phases, customers have a more viable system for trading surplus energy between each other.

Green is the new black

"If the world wants to meet its Paris climate targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030, then we need to start empowering every household to make the switch to clean energy. This project proves the commercial opportunities of our technology," said Green.

Around the world, peer to peer energy trading is becoming a core element of many countries' climate change targets.

It's not as simple as just making the means available to consumers though. There's also a need for people to want to participate in the process. Fortunately, previous trials in other countries have found people quite willing to participate and become "prosumers". The ability to save and make money by selling surplus energy to neighbours is probably a good incentive.

"Transparency is key for eKWateur. Since the beginning we’ve aimed to offer innovative services to our clients so they can hold all the cards to actively participate in the transition of the energy market," said ekWateur co-founder and CEO Julien Tchernia.

Beyond France, Power Ledger now has large scale projects underway in Austria, Australia, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, India and the United States.

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Disclosure: The author holds BNB, BTC at the time of writing.

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