Phase 1: underlying blockchain infrastructure

As we progressively ventured more deeply into the traditional renewable energy market, our initial phase provides innovative services to complement, redefine, and optimize current business models that have made a profound impact on the target market. Based on our three pillars of technological convergence, our main services currently serving clients in the domestic solar market are as follows:

1) smart device (IoT) for data acquisition

IoT essentially means letting machines communicate, and this is currently the essence of DER management. From conceptualization, we took a multi-stage approach for implementation of our unique smart metering device - from setting sensors, data collection, data pre-processing, and cybersecurity risk management. Incorporating blockchain technology within the device level has allowed a fool-proof mechanism for acquiring energy data from each installed solar power plant. Recently with refined guidelines to remote monitoring of utility-scale solar PV plants in Korea (1MW and above), we were swift to develop an iteration of the previous design to accommodate actual remote-based control (on/off) of large-scale PV plants in case of emergency, or intermittent system downtime where reboot is necessary. Recently, we have also applied system malfunction detection algorithms within the device level with aims to minimize the data transmission load and potential data loss from device to blockchain interface. As a result, we have so far installed smart devices to over 1,000 solar PV plants domestically. Additionally, in regards to the IoT smart metering device, we continuously invested in continued research and development, amounting to 2 patent registrations and 9 patent pending pertaining to methods of blockchain integration to IoT smart metering devices.

2) remote monitoring solutions through data consolidation

As distributed renewable energy sources are usually located in remote locations and can only be accessed by trained technicians, the role of remote monitoring solutions have paved the way for systemized and automated operations and maintenance. As data is collected from solar PV plants, not only our solutions aggregate daily production data and operational statistics, but also alert users to malfunctions or systematic downtime of solar PV plants. This is required for minimizing the alert and intervention time required to assess, evaluate, and lastly intervene actions to normalize production and thus to minimize loss both in terms of energy produced and revenue generated. We have also utilized the consolidated data along with various open-source data to provide outlets for preventative maintenance by offering statistical approach and AI-augmented consulting to potential indicators for intervention or prior inspections. In this way, we have turned energy data to actionable insights to provide users with added value in renewable asset management.

3) data services and AI-based asset finances

Recent market reforms to open the renewable energy trading market to private firms have allowed us to participate as a renewable energy aggregator in the Korean energy market. To promote regional-level and localized supply and demand optimization, the government subsidizes renewable asset operators by promoting their participation in the solar power prediction incentives program, run by the Korean utility Korea Power Exchange. Essentially, DER asset owners can enlist their asset with aggregators such as ourselves, and through ML-based forecasting, when the estimated power generation data fall within the limits set by KPX, the owner is returned with financial incentives. THis is one example of how data-driven services have paved the way for new outlets for sustained revenue for renewable energy operators, and the real use-case in terms of DER aggregation and virtual power plant operations and balancing.