# Manage renewable certificates and grid assets decentrally

> The Energy Web Foundation launched the Energy Web Chain as an enterprise-grade blockchain infrastructure for utility companies and grid operators. The open-source platform facilitates the unique identification of distributed energy resources and enables the tamper-proof issuance of renewable energy certificates. Through standardized smart contracts and decentralized interfaces, energy assets can be integrated into grid-relevant business processes regardless of manufacturer.

**Sector:** Secondary sector · **Industry:** Energy utilities · **Organisation:** Energy Web Foundation · **Maturity level:** Production

Canonical URL: https://www.sapientblock.com/en/use-cases/energy-web-foundation-gruenstromzertifikate-netzanlagen-dezentral-verwalten

## Documentation status

- **Project status:** Production
- **Evidence:** Evidence medium
- **Editorial review:** pending

## Description

The Energy Web Foundation has developed an open-source blockchain infrastructure specifically tailored to the requirements of energy suppliers and grid operators. Conventional systems for issuing green electricity certificates often suffer from fragmented data sources and high bureaucratic verification efforts. Through the decentralized network, industrial companies and suppliers can securely prove the origin of renewable electricity and manage decentralized energy installations.

The ecosystem initiated by the Energy Web Foundation addresses the increasing decentralisation of electricity generation through wind power, photovoltaics, and home storage. Through the Energy Web Chain, physical installations receive a cryptographically secured identity, allowing every fed-in kilowatt hour to be directly recorded and verified. Smart Contracts enable the automated creation of Renewable Energy Certificates, providing market participants such as PJM-EIS with new tools for market coordination. The architecture combines standardised settlements with the scalability of industrial power grids and supports developers in building compatible trading applications. The system serves suppliers worldwide as a neutral platform to reduce integration risks in the digitalisation of grid infrastructure.

## Benefits

- Reduced reconciliation effort between suppliers, auditors, and grid operators
- Accelerated market launch of new data-based energy services
- Increased verifiability of the actual green electricity share in the supply mix
- Seamless and tamper-proof traceability of green electricity certificates
- Manufacturer-independent registration and management of decentralized grid installations
- Significant reduction of audit and verification costs through decentralized proofs
- Relief from manual data entry and document verification
- Faster access to consistent proof and installation data

## Challenges

- Complexity in integrating historically grown ERP and billing systems
- Building consensus and common data standards among competing market participants
- Harmonisation with heterogeneous national energy laws and verification systems
- Need for comprehensive equipping of generation plants with secure metering technology
- Requirement for further training regarding decentralized identity concepts and Smart Contracts

## Technology foundation

The solution is based on the Energy Web Chain, a blockchain architecture built on Substrate and Polkadot with Solidity-compatible Smart Contracts. This architecture offers high transaction speed with low energy consumption and is specifically suited to the industrial requirements of grid operators.

## Sources

- [Our Ecosystem](https://energyweb.org/ecosystem)
- [PJM-EIS Completes Blockchain Pilot with Energy Web Foundation](https://insidelines.pjm.com/pjm-eis-completes-blockchain-pilot-with-energy-web-foundation/)
- [Energy Web Foundation Launch](http://rmi.org/news/press-release-energy-web-foundation-launch/)
- [What is Energy Web Token? | EWT Coin](https://www.kraken.com/learn/what-is-energy-web-token-ewt)
- [Energy Web Foundation Launches World's First Public Open-Source Enterprise-Grade Blockchain](https://medium.com/energy-web-insights/energy-web-foundation-launches-worlds-first-public-open-source-enterprise-grade-blockchain-3a67fc457341)