WePower, a blockchain-based platform to trade renewable energy, was listed on Australia's CoinSpot on 2 May. This new AltCoin from Spain is another example of how mass adoption of crypto currency is rapidly gaining momentum. Priced at AUD 0.207, the coin has a total supply of 745 million and is backed by the power ministry in Lithuania due to its potential to create social impact and radicalise the energy sector. WePower recently tied up with one of Australia's largest energy companies Energy Australia.
In a new tokenised environment, projects like WePower will allow the average consumer to take bold steps to cut middle-men and reduce energy costs increasing the pace of mass adoption of green energy. WePower promises to eradicate administrative bottlenecks in the energy sector that make green energy more expensive and a mere political rhetoric. This project will allow investors and consumers to take part in a decentralised system to buy and sell green power.
In Australia, WePower has tied up with Energy Australia and intends to launch a platform as early as June where customers and investors can start trading in renewable energy.
So how will WePower work?
WePower is pretty much like Steem's Smart Media Tokens where publishers are allowed to tokenise their platform and build an ecosystem around their readers and audience.
WePower will allow energy generating platforms to raise funds by selling part of their future energy production to investors and consumers. This is done on top of the Ethereum blockchain and will have smart contracts called Smart Energy Contracts.
These energy contracts will represent the future value of the energy produced and distributed by each companies. Investors that invest in tokens will be able to offset energy bills, or trade them in the market place for higher values.
Coin Stats
Price as on 2nd May: AUD.
Circulation Supply: 408,449,326 / Total Supply: 745,248,183
How can the average consumer benefit
Worldwide renewable energy sector is poised to touch USD 780 billion in the next 12 months. In Australia alone, almost 20 per cent of total energy produced is green. IN a fast tokenising economy, having a small investment in one of the fastest growing sectors is a very big positive. You just can't go wrong!
The biggest positive is the moral component too -- that you can be part of a change. Till now you've only been given a choice by some unknown call centre operator or some random marketeer who wants to push the idea of renewable energy down your throat. Not knowing where these funds actually went to, the end user was always reluctant to support green initiatives. Moreover, there was no incentive or you were never part of a community. In a tokenised economy, we will be able to actually see benefits in supporting green energy and the investor can be made part of a community. Soon, we will compete with each other to see who is doing better work and whose tokens are doing better.
If you end up buying $50.00 of WEPower every month and load it in your wallet and put it away, over time these tokens will be precious enough to pay more than energy bills. You will be able to encash it by selling it in the market or trade it against your energy bills. A .20 cent token may be valued at $50.00 in two years and a customer maybe able to pay off her bill by using three or four tokens.
WePower is a cross border company with connections across various power companies. Over time, more and more power companies will plug and work with WePower. This will appreciate the value of the tokens leaving the early investors in a great spot. So it's not a bad time to throw some spare cash at WePower.
Is WePower different from Power Ledger?
PowerLedger is an award winning Australian company that uses blockchain technology in the distribution of solar power. It allows consumers to sell their surplus solar energy without a middleman. Although the concepts are similar, Power Ledger positions itself as a niche within the renewable energy sector by focusing on solar power.