Demand response is about to catch up with rooftop solar PV as one of the big factors shaking up a new and distributed energy system. As the energy system becomes more variable, distributed and intermittent, grid operators are urgently searching for rapid response solutions to meet peak energy demand.
Applications built on the Power Ledger platform may have a lot of potential to bring these urgent solutions to bear, and fast. If you find you need a quick primer to get up to speed on this platform, I recommend the Power Ledger website, or this Power Ledger analysis on Medium. Power Ledger, the distributed Uber for electricity, is dynamite.
There are two sides to matching supply and demand. Historically, grid operators have only been able to pull supply side levers (adding generation) to do this. Being able to dial down demand and peak times is just as valuable, and much lower cost -- if only these opportunities can be accessed in a predictable, coordinated and systemic way.
I see a confluence of enabling technologies (blockchain and IoT), new consumer rewards, and new network requirements that is going to see demand for demand response (excuse the clumsy phrasing) rise very rapidly in a very short period of time. This smartnode IOT demand response enabling device may look like part of your Dad's old dial-up set up,, but there's nothing 1990s about its revolutionary ability to let service providers to control household and commercial appliances.
The capacity is there once the enabling technology is in place. Once aggregated, consumers who are able to reduce their energy use (with automated contracts) could be richly rewarded (relative to their cost) for cutting energy use, helping to stabilise the network and meet peak demand.
Even if you don't believe you would be prepared to sacrifice your comfort by turning down your airconditioner on a hot day, I think you at least have to acknowledge that many others would be willing to do so as a very easy way to make a buck. On those peak demand summer days, you could hang the clothes out on the line instead of put them in the dryer and then go to the beach for the day - and save money at the same time!
With such extreme growth imminent, IMO the time for platforms which help entrepreneurs unlock these cheap, but highly valuable market opportunities is NOW. P2P platforms, like Australia's Power Ledger, could offer just this opportunity.
Power Ledger already has an ICO open, and at basically any imaginable valuation to come from the crowdsale I think in the long term this will still prove a steal for one of blockchain's recognised killer apps.
I'm want to find others who are trying to imagine applications which could be built on the Power Ledger platform. If so, PM me or leave a comment.
Power Ledger TGE - https://tge.powerledger.io/