With 65% of residents concerned about Climate Change, Toronto Conservation Authority and Insolar team up on sustainable energy Insolar Team Follow Apr 2 · 4 min read

Insolar and the Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program have agreed a pilot which will create a test-bed to verify that the Insolar Assured Ledger™ platform can demonstrate automated control of DERs for applications in smart demand response, peer to peer energy trading, and smart electric vehicle charging.

New York, NY. Residents are increasingly worried about their carbon footprint. That explains the growing number of distributed energy resources (DERs) in Canada, which “prosumers” (energy producer/consumers) are adding to the electric energy mix. In Ontario, the Long-Term Energy Plan foresees DERs as an essential policy strategy to fill the growing gap in electricity supply that will require replacing 30% of production as conventional power is phased out in the next 15 years.

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program (STEP) is tasked with enhancing the well-being of local communities through environmental protection. Thus, it comes as no surprise that they are leading initiatives to facilitate DER implementation. STEP and Insolar have teamed up to do just that. Insolar is an innovative specialist in DLT (distributed ledger technology). Its Assured Ledger™ is a platform which powers solutions for trusted data exchange. This is key for making DERs workable at scale.

Especially renewable DERs from solar and wind can add much to the energy mix, both as a backup and a new generation source — if they are coordinated on the grid edge and do not interfere with the utilities’ mandate to provide reliable power supply. Data exchange is at the heart of this coordination in a transactive energy system.

“As part of an integrated transactive energy system, DERs can add much value to community electricity supply. An effective transactive energy system can maximize renewable energy use and solve the intermittency problem. It can connect and aggregate prosumer DERs, enterprise microgrids, and electric vehicles to the grid. Thus, the energy supply from renewables is managed optimally: it can be stored and redistributed when and where it is needed. This can stabilize grids, reduce peak demand, and make utilities future-ready without having to rebuild their infrastructure. Electric vehicles using renewable energy sources can act as batteries and feed back into the grid, while electric vehicle owners are incentivized to charge outside of peak load times.” — Gil Amdurski, Technical Coordinator, STEP

Transactive energy system powered by Insolar

“DLT has immense power to fight climate change and enable green electricity. It coordinates stakeholders, creates real-time data transparency, auditability, and trust — all of which are essential for effective energy demand management. Reliable data flows and a solid communication platform are key to reaping the benefits of DERs in smart grids. This is especially true as the number of prosumers and devices that must be connected and coordinated grows. For this, you need highly scalable DLT that can ensure reliable and secure automation to avoid peak loads and blackouts, enable renewables, and minimize consumers’ energy costs.” — Lesley Czuma, Insolar Energy Projects

The STEP-Insolar joint test-bed project will demonstrate how DLT can optimally manage the flow and exchange of energy from renewable distributed sources within the existing electric power system. The idea is to provide an enabling mechanism for Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan, so that DER and renewable energy use can grow at scale.

About STEP

The Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program (STEP) is a multi-agency program, led by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). The program helps to provide the data and analytical tools necessary to support broader implementation of sustainable technologies and practices within a Canadian context. The main program objectives are to:

monitor and evaluate clean water, air and energy technologies;

assess barriers and opportunities to implementing technologies;

develop tools, guidelines and policies, and

promote broader use of effective technologies through research, education and advocacy.

Technologies evaluated under STEP are not limited to physical products or devices; they may also include preventative measures, alternative urban site designs, and other innovative practices that help create more sustainable and livable communities. Visit: https://sustainabletechnologies.ca/

About Insolar

Insolar is a technology company that builds infrastructure for business transactions. Numerous applications can be built on Insolar, helping companies of every size optimize their supply chains and make their business ecosystems more productive. Insolar’s Assured Ledger™ technology provides a highly scalable, secure, and flexible platform and tools for companies to rapidly innovate in a trusted and risk-balanced environment. Leading enterprises, including Fortune Global 500 companies, select Insolar to help them build innovative products on Assured LedgerTM. Insolar’s team of 80 people is based across North America and Europe and combines a unique mix of solid engineering talent and blue-chip business expertise. For more information, visit: www.insolar.io

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