Omega Grid, in partnership with Électricité de France (EDF) and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), will deploy its blockchain-based local electricity market software to coordinate electric vehicle (EV) charging with solar generation in Northern California this year. The project is backed in part by an American Public Power Association (APPA) grant.
This local energy market project will demonstrate the use of blockchain technology to coordinate EV charging with local solar generation and wholesale prices in a blockchain-based incentive program. The program will show how distribution utilities can use a blockchain-based local energy market to add millions of new solar panels, EVs, and batteries to their grids without expensive infrastructure upgrades. The local energy market demonstration will take place near Sacramento, California, and receive support from the EDF Innovation Laboratory team based in Silicon Valley.
"With the distribution grid evolving because of a continuous increase of penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) including EVs and solar panels, EDF has been highly involved in grid modernization. Customers are becoming a key player in the electricity system. Thus, we are excited to continue our collaboration with Omega Grid and SMUD in this innovative smart contract-based application in exploring local energy markets at the distribution level," said EDF Innovation Laboratory’s Arnaud Souille, Smart Grid program manager.
Denver Hinds, SMUD’s Grid Evolution R&D project manager added, "SMUD has a long history of advancing innovative technology applications in the field. We are interested in examining the value of blockchain and transactive energy markets through real-world applications. We are most interested in learning how blockchain technology can help us cost-effectively integrate more EVs and solar on our grid."
Killian Tobin, Omega Grid’s co-founder and CEO stated, "We are excited for this opportunity to co-create a new grid operations paradigm with SMUD and EDF that supports an order of magnitude for more solar, batteries, and EVs. This project is a game-changer for blockchain in energy because few distribution utilities have the ability to test local energy markets with their customers. As a group, we are committed to sharing the results of this project with the APPA membership and the public."
