Renewable energy credit marketplace planned for Southeast Asia

Australian energy trading technology company Power Ledger has expanded its partnership with Thai renewable energy business BCPG to create a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) marketplace in Thailand and the broader Southeast Asian region.

The project builds on Power Ledger’s existing relationship with BCPG that initially involved the deployment of Power Ledger’s peer-to-peer (P2P) renewable energy trading platform across the T77 urban precinct in Bangkok, Thailand.

BCPG is now seeking to sell its RECs — based on meter readings derived from the P2P platform — in an REC marketplace that spans Southeast Asia, with the process of issuing, trading and retiring RECs to be recorded on Power Ledger’s platform.

“Power Ledger and BCPG are creating the first REC marketplace of its kind in Asia, bridging the gap between buyers and sellers by providing an end-to-end solution that tracks REC generation, trading and retirement through one integrated online system without the need for a broker,” Power Ledger Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Dr Jemma Green said.

The International REC Standard (I-REC) provides a global standard for energy attribute tracking, with each REC issued by I-REC representing 1 MW of renewable energy. I-REC is currently recognised in several countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

“Just like buying a concert ticket, organisations want to ensure any REC purchased hasn’t already been used, as well as settling that transaction quickly,” Dr Green explained.

“Power Ledger’s blockchain-enabled technology provides a secure and accountable platform that can audit and streamline the buying and selling of renewable energy.”

The I-REC builds on best practice from the North American REC market, where Power Ledger recently partnered with the Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (M-RETS) and Clearway Energy Group to create an REC marketplace for North America.

“We’re looking forward to building on our work in the United States and replicating a similar effective model in the Asian market,” Dr Green said.

“Power Ledger has built a platform that can process high-volume REC transactions, ultimately helping companies meet their greenhouse gas emissions targets.”

Discussions are now underway, with several organisations expressing interest in participating in the BCPG-Power Ledger project.

BCPG President and CEO Bundit Sapianchai said, “As a leading green energy producer in the Asia Pacific, we are excited to be the pioneer of REC trading in Thailand and the Asia Pacific, and expand our digital energy solutions using Power Ledger’s blockchain technology.

“We believe that the REC marketplace will help promote the use of renewable energy and make the market more sustainable.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/wthitiworasith