- American PowerNet (APN) eyes rollout of energy trading technology in the North American market following a successful trial with Australian technology company Power Ledger.
- A total of 43 MWh of energy was traded during the trial, resulting in a 17% renewable energy mix for buying participants.
- Possible future projects include loyalty peer-to-peer (P2P) trading of electricity where consumers can sell their rooftop electricity to their favorite retail brand.
Electricity provider American PowerNet (APN) is eyeing the rollout of energy trading technology in the North American market following a successful trial with Australian technology company Power Ledger.
The APN trial was the first time Power Ledger’s peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading platform was deployed in the US, into the largest US wholesale electricity market, the PJM Interconnection, which powers 65 million people across 13 states and the District of Columbia.
Using Power Ledger’s blockchain-enabled xGrid platform, APN was able to trade solar power generated from the rooftop of its headquarters in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, with two commercial neighbors across the grid.
A total of 43 MWh of energy was traded on the platform, resulting in a 17% renewable energy mix for the buying participants, who were able to access renewable energy at 5% lower rates compared to grid rates.
“We are delighted with the results and will be looking to extend Power Ledger’s technology across our market,” said American PowerNet CEO Scott Helm.
“This trial has demonstrated the value proposition of blockchain technology and we believe there will be significant interest from market participants.”
The trial result comes as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last month issued historic ruling, Order 2222, which paves the way for aggregated distributed energy resources (DERs) to compete alongside traditional power plants and other grid resources in wholesale markets.
Power Ledger Co-founder and Executive Chairman Dr Jemma Green said: “Our technology is proving to be compatible with existing large-scale electricity infrastructure like the PJM in the US and the National Electricity Network in Australia. This places Power Ledger in a powerful position in the market as a network-ready technology.”
Off the back of the APN trial, Power Ledger’s platform will be transitioned to an ongoing commercial deal with the two end users for another two years in what is expected to result in 350 MWh of energy, including 75 MWh of renewable energy, being traded.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
Source: PowerLedger
