Japan’s Kanto Region to Track Surplus Solar Energy with Power Ledger

Australian tech firm Power Ledger will run another blockchain-enabled energy trading trial in Japan’s Kanto region by December 2019.

In order to launch its second trial in the country, Power Ledger has teamed up with Japanese solar provider Sharing Energy and electricity retailer eRex, the company said in a news release shared with Cointelegraph on Oct. 3.

Main region of Japan’s economy

The new Power Ledger’s trial will track surplus solar energy levels and electricity trading, integrating blockchain-enabled P2P platform with household smart meter systems in the Kanto region. 

With Tokyo located in Kanto, the region is considered to be the main engine of Japan’s economy and is the second largest sub-national economy in the world after California in the United States.

Access to cheaper energy systems

The trial intends to demonstrate the benefits of distributed energy systems in countering the significant feed-in-tariff (FIT) reduction, which is scheduled for October 2019 and expected to affect over 500,000 solar energy consumers. 

The platform will reportedly allow trial participants to set prices and track energy trading in real time to demonstrate settlement of surplus solar transactions.

By trialing Power Ledger’s technology, Kanto can potentially learn how to monetize renewable energy investments and gain access to cheaper energy systems. The test with Sharing Energy and eRex is scheduled to run until December 2019.

As Cointelegraph reported in August, Power Ledger has announced the completion of a joint trial of a blockchain-based system for post-FIT surplus power in Osaka in partnership with Japanese Kansai Electric Power.