IEEE Power and Energy Society

Chicago Chapter 2018-2019

Establishing the Blockchain of Custody for Renewable Energy and Carbon Credits

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Michael Ashley

Clean Energy Blockchain Network

About the Topic

To facilitate the widespread adoption of clean energy, we must devise practical economic incentives to deploy clean energy assets while reducing barriers to access that clean energy. While renewable energy credits and carbon offset credits successfully push these goals forward, the associated accounting and management systems still suffer from numerous flaws that drive costs up and slow the monetization of clean energy assets. Blockchain technology has emerged as a promising solution that can provide a secure and transparent distributed ledger, while autonomously executing transactions upon fulfillment of pre-defined criteria ("smart contracts"). As a result, credits can be easily tracked from generation through ownership trades to ultimate redemption. This leaves a simple audit trail, significantly reducing the associated time and cost, and enables producers to monetize their credits immediately after generation. Clean Energy Blockchain Network (CEBN) has recently announced a partnership with the Silicon Valley Power, where we will apply blockchain technology to simplify their participation in the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program. This real-world deployment will demonstrate how blockchain technology can dramatically simplify extremely complex trading environments and enable the practical implementation of valuable programs such as LCFS that financially incentivize clean energy production and use.

About the Speaker

Mike Ashley has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University with a BS from the University of Notre Dame. His thesis work was at the interface of chemistry and materials science at the nanoscale, investigating new materials for solar cells and batteries, and uses this skill set to evaluate emerging clean energy technologies. Concurrently, Mike has been working to develop strategies and business models to help accelerate the deployment of clean energy assets by reducing financial barriers and increasing access to clean energy. To that end, Mike co-founded Clean Energy Blockchain Network, which is building a digital transactive energy marketplace and is exploring how blockchain technology can be used to enable more efficient accounting and management systems for energy-related credits and peer-to-peer energy trading.

Location       Time

ComEd Commercial Center - Auditorium 5:30 PM   Social

1919 Swift Drive (park behind building) 6:00 PM   Dinner (optional)

Oak Brook, IL 60523-1850 6:45 PM   Presentation

(near I-290 & I-294 interchange) 8:00 PM   Adjourn

630-684-3200

Location	Time

ComEd Commercial Center - Auditorium	5:30 PM	Social
1919 Swift Drive (park behind building)	6:00 PM	Dinner (optional)
Oak Brook, IL 60523-1850	6:45 PM	Presentation
(near I-290 & I-294 interchange)	8:00 PM	Adjourn
630-684-3200

Reservations

Please make your reservation by noon on Monday 7 Jan 2019 via the Online Reservation Form.

The cost of the optional family style dinner is $15 for IEEE members, $20 for non-members, payable at the event. Sorry, we are unable to process credit cards. Checks payable to "IEEE-PES Chicago Chapter" and cash are accepted, and receipts will be provided.

Security Procedure

You must present a government issued photo ID to the ComEd Commercial Center guard when you arrive. Please allow a few minutes for the guard to create a custom badge with your photo. ComEd employees and ComEd contractors may use their ComEd ID badges to enter the building.

Continuing Education

IEEE technical meetings may be acceptable as continuing education where required for maintenance of professional engineering licensure. Refer to the individual state's requirements for details. A receipt for one Professional Development Hour (PDH) will be provided.

Updated 20 Oct 2018