Two Brooklyn residents used the Ethereum blockchain today to facilitate a transaction that let one sell energy directly to the other.The neighbors accomplished the exchange thanks to LO3, a green energy startup working to do to the energy industry what blockchain is already doing to banks.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.“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.” The joint effort called TransActive Grid, struck between between LO3 and decentralized applications startup ConsenSys, allowed Brooklyn resident Eric Frumin to sell excess renewable energy generated from his own solar panels directly to Bob Sauchelli, a former program manager at EnergyStar, a government-backed green energy initiative.

Every unit of energy created by Frumin is being counted and logged on the Ethereum blockchain.Programmable smart contracts are then used to make those units of energy available for sale on the open market.Today, 195 credits were purchased for $0.07 each.As the power grid is typically set up in his neighborhood Frumin was able to off-set his own energy-consumption with a series of solar panels on his rooftop in Brooklyn.But any excess energy he generated has to be sold back to the power company at a wholesale price.“With this arrangement, I’m going to pay him the whole premium, it won’t cost me anymore.I’m going to pay him what I’d pay the power company, but he’s going to get the whole premium, not just the wholesale rate.” This last point was pivotal to Sauchelli’s decision to get involved, he told CoinDesk.While it’s important to him to buy green energy, he said the actual purchase should be as easy as if he were buying from the traditional power company or another green alternative.

Joseph Lubin, co-founder of TransActive Grid and ConsenSys, elaborated further on this point.“The electric power industry is decentralizing globally due to cheap photovoltaics and raised consumer and regulator consciousness about the efficiency, brittleness and vulnerability of power delivery," he said."But still, until now, people have never been able to upload electrons to the grid and sell them to the guy across the street."Currently, environmentally conscious energy consumers can buy what are called Renewable Energy Certificates from for a premium, that are then used to support the creation of green energy elsewhere around the world.But with TransActive Grid, and another project of the LO3 initiative, Brooklyn Microgrid, that energy — and money — stays local.“We’ve got five people in Brooklyn that are producing renewable electrons today and putting them on the grid, on a piece of copper that is connected to a house," Orsini told CoinDesk, who added: "The odds of those electrons making it to a neighbor are far higher that electrons that are produced in Nebraska.

In fact, they’re not going to make it here from Nebraska."Image of Transactive Grid box via Michael del Castillo The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies.News application Africa’s First Blockchain-based Solar Energy Crowdfunding PlatformPowered by the Ethereum blockchain, Sun Exchange allows users to lease solar cells to businesses in developing countries who lack affordable electricity, while generating passive income.bitcoin sdk phpAt a recent blockchain meetup at Coinspace’s headquarters in New York, Sun Exchange co-founder Larry Temlock gave a presentation explaining the company’s technology and mission.bitcoin ohne anmeldung kaufenEssentially a stock market for solar energy, Sun Exchange allows users to purchase solar cells (the components that make up solar panels to generate electricity) using the South African Rand or bitcoin.bitcoin miner widget

Individuals can then lease the solar cells to businesses in order to form a grid that powers hospitals, factories, schools, and other users seeking to supplement energy from the main energy grid.By combining software, blockchain, the internet-of-things, and renewable energy, Sun Exchange connects investors to businesses and communities who need access to affordable electricity in developing parts of the world.o que e bitcoin minerA Money Problem According to Sun Exchange, “over 620 million people live without access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa,” almost twice the amount of the population in the United States.bitcoin 2100Due to the lack of funding for small-scale renewable energy projects (under $1 mln), businesses in South Africa are in dire need of affordable electricity, experiencing on average of five to ten power outages per month.bitcoin smf

Although the sunniest continent on earth, corruption at the hands of African government officials along with the high upfront costs associated with developing solar energy, has left many Africans in the literal dark.Compounding this problem is the fact that many people in sub-Saharan Africa are not connected to their country’s main energy grid.Solar Blockchain Rather than selling whole solar panels, the platform sells solar cells to lower the entry cost to investors who lease the cells from Sun Exchange.Each solar panel is made up of 60 solar cells that are represented as individual shares and make up the solar grid.The businesses and communities utilizing the electricity generated from the solar panels pay rent to the solar cell owners at a fixed price for a lease term of 20 years.Solar cell owners receive monthly payments from the sold electricity, paid out in bitcoin.Projects on the exchange have a set number of solar cells they need to sell (approximately $8 each) in order to successfully launch.

Operating on an all-or-nothing model, if a project fails to sell the total sum of solar cells, the initiative does not launch.Sun Exchange has developed Ethereum-based smart contracts for these projects, however, they have not yet been implemented.When operational, smart contracts will distribute monthly payments to owner wallets and exchanges, provide transparent disclosure of the energy generated, and automate the payment of expenses, such as insurance.The performance data lives on the blockchain and can be monitored by users with tools provided by Sun Exchange.In his presentation, Temlock stated that future payments may be distributed using the Lightning Network, so that solar cell owners can acquire micropayments in real time with increased frequency.A Bright Future Through the use of cryptocurrency, Sun Exchange payments circumvent traditional banking systems, allowing for cross-border payments to occur faster and with fewer fees involved.Although Sun Exchange does not yet facilitate the trading of solar energy, it may explore this option in the future.