Venture touts clean energy as way to help firms

With initial registered capital of Bt200 million, the short-term investment plans for Thai Digital Energy Development include decentralised distribution in the renewable energy business and digital business for the energy industry. For 2019, the first project to be undertaken is the 12-megawatt Smart University project with Chiang Mai University.
Khemmarat Sartpreecha of Pea Encom said the global transformation of the power business from centralised to decentralised, the use of digital technology, and the introduction of innovations such as blockchain in peer-to-peer energy trading, have made PEA realise the need to change along with the trend.
With the increasing demand for clean energy at both the global and national levels, and the declining cost of renewable energy production, consumers now have more access to renewable energy. 
The joint-venture company will promote power production from renewable energy as well as promote digital business through the PEA Hero Platform developed by PEA.
The venture will also promote energy management, along with energy as a service business, among public and private sectors as well as state enterprises. And it will develop total solutions for digital energy products to respond to consumers’ needs.
Investments will be in the power production from renewable energy business, energy saving and energy management systems, and other businesses in digital energy.
“We offer choices in using clean energy for utilising technology to respond to the increasing demand of consumers who are no longer just consumers, but rather prosumers, to create a smart community through innovation. 
“They can use applications and smart devices to produce and manage clean energy by themselves,” said Khemmarat.
Bundit Sapianchai, president and chief executive officer of  BCPG, said that BCPG is also focusing on retail business by offering choices to consumers so that they can produce clean energy by themselves at a lower cost. 

Solar among options
The joint venture is set to gear to aggregator businesses, especially peer-to-peer energy trading through blockchain technology. That includes smart-city projects, such as the project to install solar rooftop and energy management and energy trading systems among the buildings at Chiang Mai University. Installation of that project has already begun, with total installed capacity of 12 megawatts.
 Other projects will involve real estate developers such as Sansiri and SC Asset.
Recently, SC Asset and BCPG launched the “Sun Share Project”, for the first time using blockchain to manage a solar roof system for household consumption and electricity transaction at “Neighbourhood Bangkadi”. 
The innovative energy management system is designed to ensure sustainable benefits for customers, and involves Power Ledger as a digital energy partner.
BCPG believes in the democratisation of energy – that everyone has the freedom to use and manage their own energy. In this joint venture, the company will continue working closely with Power Ledger, its digital business partner. 
They will together create a business landscape whereby innovation plays a crucial part in a sustainable way for new energy utilisation.