Thailand’s state-owned Energy company, PTT, and global Energy blockchain nonprofit, Energy Web Foundation (EWF) agreed on a partnership in September 2019, aimed at creating a new regional solution for Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) built on the Energy Web Chain, the EWF’s open-source, decentralized blockchain platform.
RECs are a market-based instrument that certifies the bearer owns one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity generated from a renewable Energy resource. Once the power provider has fed the Energy into the grid, the REC receive can then be sold on the open market. The RECs act as an accounting or tracking mechanism for solar, wind, and other green energies as they flow into the power grid.
The press release from EWF explains that there is strong corporate demand for REC options in Thailand and the broader ASEAN region. Multinational corporations want to buy regionally sourced RECs matched to their demand from existing and new facilities in the region. They are looking for ways to better enable and track sustainability commitments down through their supply chains, based in Thailand and neighboring countries.
Currently, RECs n the United States and guarantees of origin (GOs) in Europe account for the majority of global Energy attribute certificates (EAC) market activity, with the ASEAN region contributing less than one-half of one percent of global EAC markets in 2018.
The solution to be developed by PTT and EWF will be compliant with the International REC Standard (I-REC). PTT has already demonstrated a successful transaction on a test version of the application. A 5 MW solar farm under Global Power Synergy Public Company Limited (GPSC; the PTT Group’s flagship power generation business), located at the Chanthaburi Shrimp Farmer Cooperative successfully transferred 431 I-RECs (MWh) via PTT’s renewables platform and the Energy Web Chain to 3Degrees, a San Francisco-based trading house that was procuring the I-RECs on behalf of a client in Thailand. PTT and 3Degrees are both EWF Affiliates.
Now the teams are focused on building several modules for the application: a user and asset connection to the blockchain application; in collaboration with I-REC Standard a blockchain integration with I-REC’s registry; a marketplace for trading, claiming, and reporting issued certificates; and a solution for small solar PV generators to enable streamlined aggregation and participation in I-REC markets. Additional modules are also in discussion around clean charging for electric vehicles and a digital platform for power purchase agreements (PPAs). The target delivery date for the PTT Renewables Marketplace Platform is May 2020.
(Sources: CTN News; Energy Web Foundation)
