Energy Microgrid, Blockchain and Brooklyn
This post is about one of the most pioneers initiatives within the energy sector. It’s about microgrid .
What is microgrid about?
Microgrid in the energy sector makes reference to connect consumers and small producers within a community, neighborhood, town or city.
Below are some advantages that microgrids offer compared to the traditional energy model:
- Path to growth incentive of production and consumption of renewal energy by the members of a community,
- To develop a local grid of energy distribution that improves efficiency by avoiding the consumption of energy produced hundreds of kilometers away,
- To create a new business model that economically incentives members of a community to sell potential energy overproduction. Boosting renewal energy generators at the same time that strengths local economies,
- Locally managing energy production to avoid energy cut-downs on emergencies or climate disasters by not depending on the large nets of conventional energy transport.
These are some of the advantages that makes microgrid an a very powerful alternative and makes it a reference to disrupt the current energy model.
LO3 Energy & Brooklyn Microgrid
One of the first start-ups leading microgrid application is LO3 Energy. Company founded in 2011 in the U.S. by its current CEO Lawrense Orsini. LO3 is leading a microgrid project set in Brooklyn known as Brooklyn Microgrid.
LO3 Energy is participating, together with the local government, in the development of a microgrid energy community within 3 districts of the city of Brooklyn (New York). With the goal of setting local nets of energy among neighbors that allow them become energy independent from the traditional energy grid. First energy transaction was due on April 2016 through their own Blockchain transaction system.
Brooklyn Microgrid delivers a completely new approach. It allows members of a community to share energy resources produced within the same neighborhood. Giving them the choice of acquiring renewal energy to a neighbor that produces it. Dividing the investment cost of the energy generators, mostly, solar panels.
How does it work?
LO3 Energy microgrid system is based in its platform called Trans Active Grid (TAG) that incorporates both Software and Hardware that allows accounting the produced energy that is brought in the grid, tracks this energy and finally distribute it through the consumers. Who and how much is consumed is also compiled within the platform.
Moreover, LO3 Energy has developed this platform based on Blockchain that acts as recorder and approver of transactions within that microgrid without intermediary. Provider directly sells to the consumer. Or better said: the neighbor producer of green renewal energy sells it directly to the neighbor that is in need of it.
Obviously, this happens in a platform with a look and fill of an Smartphone App/Dashboard. It allows to establish prices for offer and demand as well as knowing who is producing what type of energy.
