Uttar Pradesh has launched India and South-Asia’s first blockchain-enabled ‘peer to peer’ (P2P) trading platform for rooftop solar power.

The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation (UPPCL), Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (MVVNL), and Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) are hosting the first-of-its-kind pilot project, involving energy generated from solar rooftop systems installed on buildings in Lucknow.

India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF), along with blockchain technology partner Power Ledger, Australia, and Abajyon Consulting, will execute the project.

Last year, the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission had approved a pilot project for transactions of power from rooftop solar systems using blockchain-based technology. It had then stated that under this pilot project, government buildings or consumers would carry out peer-to-peer transactions for the trading of rooftop solar power. The fees for the blockchain technology will be recovered in the account rate of return (ARR) of the concerned distribution licensee. By using blockchain technology, participants can transfer funds, settle trades, or vote without seeking the approval of the central certifying authority.

The P2P trading platform’s first 12 participants would comprise nine customers with rooftop solar (prosumers) and three customers without rooftop solar (net buyers), identified in consultation with MVVNL. The participants will engage in mock trading (no money transactions) for the next three months, during which ISGF will try out different trading algorithms.

“The pilot project will demonstrate the feasibility of rooftop solar energy trading through smart contracts on the blockchain platform between prosumers and their neighboring households. Power Ledger’s platform integrates the transaction data from the smart meters to enable households to set prices, track energy trading in real-time and enable the settlement of surplus solar energy transactions,” ISGF president Reji Kumar Pillai said.

The customers have been trained on the blockchain platform’s functionalities and the procedures that need to be followed to participate in the trading activities via online training sessions held by ISGF.

The pilot project’s results and recommendations will be submitted to UPPCL and UPERC for framing of regulations to promote P2P trading of rooftop solar power amongst prosumers and consumers in the state.

To promote innovations and peer-to-peer energy transactions using blockchain technology between the rooftop solar prosumers, the state had earlier introduced the concept in its Rooftop Solar PV Grid Interactive Systems Gross/Net Metering) Regulations 2019 issued in January 2019.

Blockchain-based technology has been gaining increasing popularity globally.

A similar pilot project was launched for P2P renewable energy trading in Singapore in July this year by  Senoko Energy and supported by Electrify and Engie Factory of France. The project allows Singapore businesses and households to sign up for Electrify’s P2P trading platform through SolarShare, a Senoko Energy service offering.

Last year, Singapore’s SP Group, an energy utility group, launched one of the world’s first blockchain-powered renewable energy certificate marketplaces at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Energy Business Forum.

Earlier, Mercom reported that Swytch, a U.S.-based blockchain-driven clean energy company, signed a deal with Chuncheon, the capital of Gangwon Province in South Korea, to reduce carbon emissions in the city.