Francis Bacon said that the more you know about something, the more power you have over it. But what if that something is as vast and unfathomable as solar energy, how do we do it? Under the maxim that knowledge is power, Factorenergia and Blockchain Digital Energy have joined forces to digitize energy through blockchain with one objective: to increase the efficiency and savings of solar communities.
Photovoltaic self-consumption is changing the role of the consumer within the energy production chain. Going from the end, with total dependence on large infrastructures combined with an extensive energy transportation network, to the origin of that same chain. In the era of renewables, photovoltaic energy is the only one that deploys its full potential without even having to leave home.
The energy that can be generated on our roofs under the sun is clean, cheap and kilometer zero. Rapidly deployed, it is capable of covering the needs of our homes immediately and exporting excess energy to the grid. That is, with self-consumption we stop being passive consumers and become active producers (prosumer). It is energy sovereignty that, with the help of Factorenergia, is reaching more neighboring communities.
By opting for a collective deployment, more affordable for the citizen than if it were implemented individually, it is estimated that self-consumption in neighboring communities could give access to energy sovereignty to 70% of the population. A giant step in the decarbonization objectives demanded by the 2030 Agenda and that the planet is crying out for. This is already a reality in a community within the residential development of La Mallola, in Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona).
Composed of 14 collective self-consumption facilities and a total peak power of 511.11 kWp, Factorenergia serves 159 participating neighbors who, thanks to blockchain technology, monitor and record the data generated in individualized readings for each neighbor and in real time. Information that, in a rigorous, safe and easy-to-interpret manner, provides them with greater knowledge of their consumption. It is the first time that energy has been digitized using blockchain technology, but the effects are already tangible. “Those who have and are aware of the energy values associated with their installation or participation in real time, maximize the savings on their electricity bill,” says Emili Rousaud, CEO of Factorenergia.
As a kind of digital notary of your consumption, all energy exports made by each user are registered, valued and secured thanks to Blockchain
Digital Energy, the company that developed the device. This knowledge allows them to modulate their energy behavior, know the surplus generated, share it with other nearby supply points or family members, or sell it to other users.
Joaquín Nora, a resident of La Mallola, lives alone with his wife, has very low expenses and redirects the excess energy generated to an apartment in Cubelles. In his case, he wanted to be part of the energy community for several reasons. “The first, for the sense of community, for everyone being in the project. Second, for the ecological issue, which is very important to me. Third, obviously, due to the improvement in the electricity bill.”
The reasons do not end there, since the imminent purchase of an electric car and the foreseeable increase in its electricity consumption when plugging it in will be neutralized by the community's solar installation. A final unexpected factor, but much celebrated by the community, is the drop in the temperature of the attic by about five degrees. “That has been very positive,” highlights Nora.
Accustomed to consulting consumption records practically blindly on invoices that are barely or not at all understandable, the user can maximize their performance, objectively decide if they want to sell the surplus to the marketer, or move energy uses to other time slots, among other options. With this device, the information is updated every hour and is available through the mobile app. “They have greater governance and trust in their data to decide when and how they consume the energy that is generated,” adds Henry Daunert, CEO of Blockchain Digital Energy.
María Lorena Álvarez is another of the residents of La Mallola who, thanks to the application, can see first-hand how the energy generated on her roof impacts the savings on her bill. “I will be able to understand what my savings are and organize my consumption during the hours when energy is cheaper or has zero cost.” Together with the La Mallola neighborhood community, this technological solution is already a reality at the Institut Torrent dels Alous and the Rubí Courts, which share the energy generated in the panels installed on the roof of the institute. The only requirement is that the participants in the installation be within a two-kilometer radius.
