According to Middle East news outlet Albawaba, energy players in the mainstream are gearing up to embrace blockchain technology. Dr Adham Sleiman, vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, Middle East and North Africa, suggested that the world is preparing for a 50% share of its energy coming from renewable energy sources.

That option seems rather convenient for most setups, and enterprise blockchain is one of the frontiers pushing for adoption in the traditional energy market, with the sector described as one of the most suited industry to accommodate blockchain technology.

Migrating to a renewable energy dependent state has its own challenges such as institutional, governance, supply, demand, technical, as well as commercial challenges. However, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), consisting of six member states, expect electricity demands to increase, hence the prospects for renewable energy.

Blockchain comes into play when discussing its distributed and decentralized qualities, given that the changing scape of the traditional energy systems is becoming more decentralized. The change has been ascribed to the role played by distributed energy resources (DER). Sleiman said:

“DER ARE CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE; WE ARE MOVING TOWARDS A MORE DECENTRALIZED GRID, WHERE UTILITIES NO LONGER FULLY CONTROL THE SYSTEM,” ADDING THAT “UTILITIES NOW NEED TO LOOK BEYOND ENERGY DELIVERY.”

He further suggested that “blockchain applications can help with enabling P2P energy trading”.

The overall change in the energy industry may take another decade before blockchain has fully permeated the sector, as Sleiman opines, “this is a major disruptive change that the energy sector may face within the next 10 years.” However, the journey has begun with many blockchain-based startups and mainstream energy giants forming partnerships to explore the possible use of blockchain and smart contracts in the energy system.

In late January, the Danish State energy firm was already looking into blockchain solutions such as IOTA’s Tangle for an efficient supply chain. In Spain, Iberdrola another big energy company was reportedly looking into blockchain to track electricity power across the country.