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Australian Blockchain Startup Power Ledger Deploys Blockchain Grid to Audit Renewable Energy

Power Ledger, an Australian peer-to-peer energy trading pioneer, has announced to have bought a 250 kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic system, which will use blockchain-based data management and settlement system. Power Ledger bought the system from Perdaman Advanced energy – an Australian firm – that offers clean energy consulting and project development.

New Approach for Maximizing Energy Generation and Optimal Use

After the result of many global trials, global trials, Power Ledger has identified a need for a new product that could harness blockchain vision to offer greater visibility in settlement, billing, and data management for solar assets under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

The new PV system is integrated on PPA (Power Purchase agreement) to ensure renewable energy trading becomes more transparent (to offer greater transparency on renewable energy being sold to customers). The PPA vision is meant for renewable energy assets like rooftop solar panels and cross-regional power grid PPA supply arrangements.

The 250kW PV system will be launched in Maddington, Western Australia, with intentions to further the adoption of solar energy across the country. Dr. Jemma Green – Power Ledger executive chairman and co-founder – said, “Our trials with governments and energy retailers across the world have identified the demand for a product which enabled autonomous settlement and management of energy production and consumption.”

Dr. Green further mentioned, “Traditional billing and metering systems can be inaccurate. Power Ledger’s technology prevents overcharging and loss of revenue simultaneously. Australia’s energy regulator is calling for the adoption of a new form of the two-sided energy market. Power Ledger possesses the technology to facilitate such a transition.”

Vikas Rambal – Perdaman Advanced Energy chairman – said, “The involvement of Perdaman Advanced Energy in this project shows our organization’s multi-pronged efforts to build a better tomorrow by delivering clean energy solutions that decarbonize our economy and bring down the costs of carrying out business in Australia.”

Tailored PV Components

Power Ledger’s technology can be tailored to suit the need of any energy built and market and has several products that manage renewable energy credit markets and enable energy trading.

For instance, a local council or a business that enters into PPA program with a renewable energy generator can directly integrate with Power Ledger’s platform. Generators can customize the energy trading and tracking software to suit the regulatory requirements of businesses, governments, and local councils to help them reach their renewable energy targets.

Power Ledger can also integrate its technology with asset developers, embedded network operators, independent power producers, and PV systems owners.

Blockchain In Transactive Energy

The renewable energy, which the Maddington power solar asset produces would be tracked using based on the use of blockchain technology to offer a verified audit tracking of energy dispatched to the grid, energy generated, energy sold from the grid, and energy consumed. The effectiveness of blockchain technology will assist in eliminating any potential error in over or under accounting for revenue.

Furthermore, the PV system will utilize Power Ledger’s environmental attributes product to automate issuing of large-scale generation certificates and tokenize such certificates.

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Ripple is Determined to be Carbon Neutral by 2030

Ripple Labs Inc has declared its intentions to eliminate all of its carbon footprints by 2030 while also creating the avenue for other companies willing to do the same. In a bid to achieve this, the firm said it has partnered with the Energy Web Foundation to develop and launch the EW Zero, a new, open-source tool that will enable any blockchain to decarbonize through the purchase of renewable energy in local markets worldwide.

“While the mainstream adoption of blockchain and crypto is encouraging, we must constantly evaluate how we innovate to ensure the future of global finance is sustainable,” says Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple. “As digital payments continue to evolve, we need to make long-term systemic shifts as an industry to ensure digital transformation doesn’t come at the cost of our planet. We are leading this change and urging all crypto players to hold themselves accountable–monitoring their energy consumption to make greener choices.”

Blockchain companies are proliferating with offices relying on one form of energy or the other to power their complex processes and thus EW Zero will help firms access reliable renewable energy sources. As the firm noted, any developer can access and leverage the tool for their respective outfits.

Ripple is committing to this conservation move with backing from such conservation organizations, including REBA and Rocky Mountain Institute.

“Global finance is a key driver on the path to achieving a zero-net emissions energy future industrywide,” says Jules Kortenhorts, CEO of Rocky Mountain Institute. “Blockchain and digital assets are transformative technologies and will play a pivotal role in the future of finance. Ripple is taking the lead to ensure fintech is part of the effort to build a sustainable future that is not only transformative for banks and consumers, but also beneficial for the planet.”

Ripple Plays a Vital Role in the Blockchain and Crypto Adoption

Besides the company’s new push for sustainability, Ripple is known to play a key role in helping to drive the adoption and integration of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. The company is vocal in criticizing India’s incessant crypto ban.

The company is also proactive in championing inclusive cryptocurrency regulations with active involvement with the blockchain association.

EU Market Watchdog Speaks Against Renewable Energy Mining for PoW

The Vice-Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Erik Thedéen, has taken an unpopular stance against the use of renewable energy for all Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining operations.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Thedéen said the use of renewable energy can derail member nations from focusing on the climate change goals set out by the bloc.

From Thedéen’s standpoint, cryptocurrencies are not bad in themselves, a position that was gleaned from his advocacy for a switch to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mining. With the market watchdog calling Bitcoin mining a “National Issue,” he pointed out that member states must place a special exception to the activities, adding that;

“We need to have a discussion about shifting the industry to a more efficient technology.”

While the energy utilization of Bitcoin mining is very obvious, debating a way forward remained at the forefront of major industry stakeholders in the past few years. Last year, the ban of Bitcoin and all cryptocurrency-related activities further placed the subject as a matter of urgency, with industry players devising modalities to shift their energy options to a renewable one.

Despite industry stakeholders being unable to agree on whether Bitcoin mining is good for the environment or not, as many proponents have presented arguments in favour of mining, many have agreed that a switch to renewable energy sources is a better bet moving forward.

American electric motor manufacturer, Tesla Inc, announced its plans to reintroduce Bitcoin payments when the bulk of energy powering Bitcoin mining comes from renewable or clean energy sources. Many Bitcoin mining companies are also exploring avenues to tap energy from clean sources, a move that many believe will be economical and environmentally friendly in the long run.

Thedéen’s call against the use of renewable energy for Bitcoin mining is concerning and might sway policymakers in a direction that places additional strain on BTC and other PoW coins in the near future.

Vespene Energy Raises $4.3M Funding to Convert Landfill Methane into Bitcoin

Berkeley-based renewable energy company Vespene Energy announced on Tuesday that it had raised $4.3 million in a funding round led by Polychain Capital and joined by other climate-focused funds.

Vespene said it plans to use the fresh funding to launch its pilot site in California, a development that aims to make it the first firm to convert wasted landfill methane into energy power that enables Bitcoin mining.

Vespene seeks to convert methane emissions to electricity for Bitcoin mining.

The firm stated that it installs highly efficient micro-turbines on municipal landfills to convert otherwise wasted methane gas into electricity for various on-site uses such as Bitcoin mining data centres, among others.

The company said its immediately deployable and highly scalable technology enables municipal landfill operators to monetize a stranded asset while minimizing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Methane is 84 times more potent (concentrated, big, heavy) than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas in the first 20 years after release.

According to the EPA, U.S. landfills account for 15% of U.S. methane emissions, but a recent NASA survey indicates that such figures maybe two to three times higher.

Due to the high costs and long lead times associated with the construction of grid-connected landfill energy projects, over 70% of the country’s 2,600 municipal landfills don’t have a viable use for the methane they produce.

Vespene said it uses a business model that enables landfill operators to participate in a profit-sharing agreement. In this way, the firm constructs its facilities in landfill owners can use to capture methane emissions that can be converted to produce electricity for Bitcoin mining.

Vespene Energy Co-Founder & CEO Adam Wright further commented: “Our goal is to mitigate a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and help fuel the transition to a renewable energy future by using Bitcoin mining to turn landfill methane streams into revenue streams for our customers.”

Vespene stated that using wasted methane to power Bitcoin mining is killing two birds with one stone – mitigating harmful GHG emissions and assisting in transitioning Bitcoin mining toward carbon-neutral and negative carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions sources.

Why Fossil Fuel Firms Embracing Bitcoin Mining Projects

ExxonMobil Corporation, a US multinational oil and gas corporation, recently launched a secret project to reduce its pollution by mining Bitcoin. The project is regarded as one of the greatest achievements that are being worked to be achieved.

In March last year, Exxon launched a pilot project to mine Bitcoin in its Bakken oil fields in North Dakota. The US’s biggest oil and gas company also has plans to do the same in Alaska and parts of Nigeria, Argentina, Guyana, and Germany.

Other oil companies, like ConocoPhillips in North Dakota, also see the energy-hungry cryptocurrency as a way to offload some of their climate footprints and make revenues through such a process.

These oil firms normally drill oil by pushing some methane gas out of the ground. Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Therefore, these firms usually don’t want to allow methane to escape into the atmosphere.

Through the use of technology, these companies normally reinject methane gas into the ground. While all that gas can be put to use as electricity, that would require building out efficient infrastructure.

Instead of supplying this methane gas to the market, these fossil fuel companies are willing to make use of the gas to produce electricity to mine Bitcoins.

Marathon Digital CEO Urges to Incentivize Bitcoin Miners for Embracing Renewable Energy

Fred Thiel, the Chief Executive Officer of Bitcoin mining firm Marathon Digital, has called on the Federal Government to incentivize miners to embrace renewable energy options to mine their cryptocurrencies.

Thiel’s comments come in an interview following the release of a report by the US government on the environmental implications of Bitcoin mining.

Known for running a mining outfit with a knack for proper and targeted transition into clean energy, Thiel said the incentivization model would arguably help stir the willingness of stakeholders to embrace clean energy.

Using his company as an example, Thiel noted that “unlike other miners who may be on the grid just sucking energy off the grid in competition with consumers, we do it behind the meter.” According to him, this relationship is “more symbiotic to the grid versus parasitic.”

The clamour behind the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining comes off as a major regulatory push for most governments worldwide. The subject is held as a major concern that the Chinese government has banned every mining and crypto-related activity, causing a tectonic shift in the mining and broader crypto ecosystem in mid-2021.

With a ‘responsible’ shift away from the environmental concerns of Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining, one of Ethereum’s reasons for transitioning into the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus model through the merge is that when out last week. Thiel’s recommendation, if taken, may help to nudge miners, particularly the established ones operating in the US, to invest in clean energy.

“If you provide an incentive for miners to co-locate behind the mediator at renewable energy plants, then miners are going to move there,” he said.

To Thiel, the report from the government somehow encouraged stakeholders to look at the bright side of mining crypto with renewable energy.

He said this highlights how the regulators are beginning to warm up to the idea and importance of Bitcoin and PoW mining in general. While he acknowledges that full appreciation may take time, he believes the government is currently positively disposed to welcome sound regulation.

Marathon Digital Initiates Bitcoin Mining Powered by Renewable Landfill Energy

Fort Lauderdale, FL: Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA), known for its endeavors in bolstering the Bitcoin infrastructure, has announced a collaboration with renewable energy firm Nodal Power. The partnership aims to harness methane emissions from a Utah landfill to power a 280 kW Bitcoin mining pilot project. The project, now fully operational, underscores a sustainable model for cryptocurrency mining, mitigating the environmental impact associated with the significant energy demands of such operations.

Methane, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is a potent greenhouse gas, with an impact “80 times more harmful than CO2 for 20 years post emission.” With municipal solid waste contributing to around 14.3% of the total methane emissions in the U.S. in 2021, as per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the initiative by Marathon addresses a critical environmental challenge.

Marathon’s project is a testament to the possibility of transforming harmful methane emissions from landfills into a renewable energy source for powering Bitcoin mining operations. This project forms part of a larger Marathon initiative aimed at validating the process of capturing, converting, and utilizing landfill methane emissions for electricity generation to fuel Bitcoin miners.

Fred Thiel, Marathon’s Chairman and CEO, highlighted the broader environmental and operational goals, stating, “By capturing methane emitted from landfills and converting it into electricity, we may be able to lower our energy costs, diversify our operations, and contribute positively to the environment.”

The global cryptocurrency mining sector is on a quest for sustainable energy solutions. For instance, Genesis Digital Assets Limited recently commenced operations at a hydroelectric-powered facility in Sweden, illustrating the growing trend towards eco-friendly mining practices. Additionally, Marathon itself inaugurated a 200-MW immersion-cooled plant in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City in October.

The initiative by Marathon and Nodal Power not only aligns with the global sustainability goals but also sets a precedent for other cryptocurrency mining entities to explore environmentally friendly energy alternatives.

Despite achieving a mining milestone of 2,926 Bitcoin in Q2 2023, Marathon reported earnings that fell below expectations. The firm’s Q2 revenues soared to $132.8 million, marking a 228% surge compared to the previous year.

The pilot project by Marathon Digital Holdings exhibits a pioneering effort in marrying cryptocurrency mining with renewable energy solutions, reflecting a growing consciousness within the digital asset sector towards environmental sustainability.