Michael del Castillo from Coindesk is reporting that two Brooklyn residents have used Ethereum to record a transaction that let one sell energy directly to the other for the first time.
The neighbors accomplished the exchange thanks to LO3, a green energy startup working to merge the energy industry with Blockchain theory and technologies.
LO3 co-founder Lawrence Orsini said that the exchange is designed to demonstrate how everyday people can use Blockchain to facilitate peer-to-peer exchange.
Orsini told CoinDesk:
“All the projects that we’re working on are squarely focused on the emerging distributed economy, peer to peer concepts. They’re all squarely focused on distributing and decentralizing assets into communities, into people’s hands, the new economy of the future.”
TransActive Grid is a joint venture uniting LO3 Energy and Consensus Systems. Based on the open source, cryptographically secure decentralized application platform of Ethereum, TransActive Grid’s business logic layer delivers real-time metering of local energy generation and usage as well as other related data. This open energy platform is transparent, auditable, non-repudiable, peer-to-peer, and cryptographically secure. Friction in the market is reduced by allowing different classes of users to transact openly on the platform. The first demonstration project is a neighborhood installation in Brooklyn, New York.
Brooklyn Microgrid is currently developing a community microgrid in the Gowanus and Park Slope neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York. Community microgrids are a new approach for grid operations that achieve a sustainable, secure, and cost-effective energy system by providing long-term, locally generated power security prioritized for the community. Microgrids, have ability to separate from the larger electric grid during extreme weather events or other emergencies, providing the backbone for resilient, sustainable and more efficient energy production of the future.
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The goals of the Brooklyn Microgrid projects:
- Increase the amount of clean, renewable energy generated in the community by members of the community
- Develop a connected network of distributed energy resources which will improve electrical grid resiliency and efficiency
- Manage these distributed energy resources in times of power outages and emergencies to protect the community and local economy
- Create financial incentives and business models that encourage community investment in their energy future, creating energy and jobs that boost the local economy
