Creating energy communities using a social currency
Comunitaria has originated a new way to use the digital social currency (creating energy communities). This project is call “Rooftop that feeds” and his goal is to create local energy communities in disadvantaged neighborhoods by benefiting local commerce and their economy.
The social currency with Blockchain technology
Currently, Comunitaria has a social currency called ILLA circulating in the neighborhood of Los Pajaritos. Started with the project “Donation of fresh food from local shops” and consist of distribute the social currency in the form of a digital voucher among the most needy people in the neighborhood, according to the criteria of Caritas. The vouchers distributed can only be used to buy fresh food in Comunitaria’s member shops.
Once it has been proved that the ILLA is accepted in the neighborhood, a further step is taken. It wants to take advantage of the multiple uses of the social currency to use it for the benefit of the neighborhood and to favor its local economy.
How do we relate social currencies to solar energy?
The project consists of installing solar panels on buildings so that the sale of the energy obtained allows the purchase of fresh food in local stores.
In this case, the solar energy generated is converted into illas that are distributed among the neighbors to buy in the small stores in their neighborhood.
This project is being validated thanks to the Blockchain partnership program led by Blockstart. The partnership program helps to validate, test and demonstrate the solution with innovative SMEs willing to participate in the project.
What is the process?
- Rental of rooftops by the neighborhood homeowners’ communities for the installation of solar panels.
- Sale of energy generated by these panels to local shops.
- The shops pay part of their bill in Illas to the utility company. This part in Illas is used by the commercialization company to pay the rent of the rooftops to the communities.
For this purpose, an smart device will be used to measure the energy generated, the energy consumed and the energy sold.
Creating a local energy community
At the European level, energy communities are legally recognized within the Clean energy for all Europeans package. The main objective of Comunitaria is to be able to create local energy communities. But, what is an energy community?
An energy community is considered to be energy production for individual or collective use in the same place where it is generated locally and communally. In other words, the energy that is produced and not consumed can be used by neighbors in the area, creating a shared energy self-consumption.
Energy communities can use various types of energy. In this case, this project uses photovoltaic energy, what we would call a green energy community that generates a positive environmental impact.
However, not only environmental impact is achieved, the objective of Comunitaria is also to have a social and economic impact:
- Fighting energy poverty in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Currently, in the poorest neighborhood in Spain, Los Pajaritos.
- Reducing malnutrition in the neighborhood through the consumation of fresh food that can be purchased with the illas generated by energy.
- Promote the local economy and employment through small shops.
Would you like to create an energy community in your neighborhood?
LEDGER, EU-funded Project
Comunitaria is developing a metering and billing system for solar energy production using Blockchain technology thanks to Ledger, an EU-funded project that allows solving problems using decentralized technologies, such as Blockchain.
