Chile Deploys Blockchain to Track Renewable Energy Usage

Chile will use blockchain technology to track the use and flow of energy that is created through renewable mechanisms.

The new technology is called Renova, which was developed by Chile’s electricity coordinator CEN. The world is developing more and more electronic devices, which use copper for various parts of them. Chile has masses of copper which is mined in the country by some of the world’s biggest mining conglomerates, including BHP Group and Anglo American Plc.

An innovative step into the future is that these mining operations are leaning on renewable energy to produce the raw materials. Using Renova, the government and other stakeholders aim to prove that the mining is actually energy efficient using renewable energy. This not only buoys the mining industry that provides employment in the South American country, but also shows other large-scale industrial actors that they can also use renewable energy for their works.

Improving green initiatives

BloombergNEF analyst Amanda Ahl believes that Renova can be scaled and used by many companies wanting to improve green initiatives:

“The granular traceability and audit trails that blockchain can support is especially useful for companies that are working to reach net-zero goals. This can be one part of the solution ensuring corporate sustainability goals are on track by verifying emission reduction claims.”

Real-time data is already available to CEN, however, Renova gives incentive to companies to make their contracts available to the governing body. This makes sure that data, such as megawatt-hours, are reported.

Earlier in May, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said energy audits of large bitcoin (BTC) miners could help solve the debate around cryptocurrency’s environmental impact. A recent study by ARK Invest showed how bitcoin would have performed under different market conditions, if renewable energy had powered its mining.