Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO, Headquarters: Osaka Prefecture) and Nihon Unisys announced on December 9, 2019 the launch of a demonstration project for a system to determine the trading price of surplus solar electricity and environmental values[1] generated by prosumers[2].
The demonstration project will run until March 31, 2020. It will utilize blockchain technologies to develop a system to help consumers, prosumers, and businesses that participate in the RE 100 initiative to determine the trading price of surplus electricity. RE 100 is an initiative launched by the Climate Group of the United Kingdom (UK) and the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), a UK-based non-profit that is championing the use of 100% renewable energy for electricity for business operations.[3]
Nihon Unisys, headquartered in Tokyo[4], manufactures computer equipment and develops various software products.[5] In this project, Nihon Unisys will be responsible for developing and evaluating the system, while KEPCO will construct, demonstrate, and evaluate the system at the test center. The project has adopted four trading methods: Match-Price Auction, Single-Price Auction, Price Discrimination, and Dynamic Pricing.[6]
Since October 2018, KEPCO and Nihon Unisys have been working with prosumers and consumers to conduct a study to determine the price of surplus electricity generated by solar power generation, as well as to develop a new platform for direct trading. The two companies were able to simulate Peer-to-Peer (P2P) electricity trading by using blockchain technologies, and determined the transaction prices based on different trading methods.[7]
[1] Environmental value means electricity used by a prosumer itself and its surplus electricity.
[2] A prosumer is someone who both produces and consumers energy, in part, due to the rise of new connected technologies and the steady increase of more renewable energy such as solar and wind onto the electric grid.
https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/consumer-vs-prosumer-whats-difference
[4] https://www.unisys.co.jp/e/about/profile.html
[5] https://www.unisys.co.jp/e/solutions_services.html
[6] https://www.kepco.co.jp/corporate/pr/2019/pdf/1209_2j_01.pdf
[7] https://www.kepco.co.jp/corporate/pr/2019/1209_2j.html