• The Singapore-headquartered green tech firms have combined their technology expertise to bridge the existing global renewable energy demand and supply gap
• The result is a streamlined solution for renewable energy asset owners to acquire and sell RECs to corporations that are decarbonising their business operations and supply chains
Envision Digital International Pte Ltd (“Envision Digital”), a global green tech and Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) technology leader, and T-RECs.ai, an artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain powered Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) trading platform, have announced the successful development and launch of the world’s first end-to-end RECs ecosystem. Established as part of an ongoing technology partnership between both companies, the ecosystem provides a streamlined, seamless and cost-effective way for small and large renewable energy asset owners across the world to acquire RECs, offer their supply of RECs to match the exact demand from renewable energy buyers, and generate new revenue streams.
The demand for RECs has intensified as many corporations, including 263 of the world’s most influential businesses under the RE100 global initiative, are aiming to achieve 100 percent use of renewable energy across their business operations and decarbonising their entire supply chains. Many renewable energy asset owners or providers have, however, traditionally resisted registering for RECs due to financial costs that must be paid upfront, an asset verification and auditing process that takes months, and no guarantee of sales after the RECs are eventually acquired.
As electricity generated from renewable energy sources is indistinguishable from that produced by any other source, the only way for corporations – or renewable energy buyers – to show proof that they are meeting their global green commitments is to purchase RECs. Each REC certifies that the bearer owns one megawatt-hour of electricity generated from a renewable energy resource.
Envision Digital and T-RECs.ai are now eliminating barriers to REC acquisition and monetisation. Currently used to connect and manage more than 63 million smart devices and 180 gigawatts of energy assets globally, EnOS™ is Envision Digital’s AIoT powered smart energy management software platform. By being fully integrated with T-RECs.ai’s REHash’s platform, EnOS’s proprietary monitoring and advanced analytics capabilities can go one step beyond helping renewable energy asset owners track their green assets’ performance, lifecycle and return on investment in real-time.
The new end-to-end ecosystem will allow Envision Digital’s global customer base of utility scale, industrial and commercial renewable energy asset owners to pull verified and relevant renewable asset information directly from EnOS when using T-RECs.ai’s REHash platform to register for RECs. The result is a radical reduction of the time taken for renewable energy asset owners to acquire RECs – from three months to less than a week. The acquired RECs are then put on sale on T-RECs.ai’s marketplace, with renewable energy asset owners only charged the financial cost of acquiring a REC after it has been purchased.
“At Envision Digital, we are convinced that technology – for both industrial and digital application, is key to driving inclusive and economically viable decarbonisation. Our digital solutions, and notably our operating system EnOS, enables efficient interactions between renewable energy asset owners and corporations participating in the green economy,” said Sylvie Ouziel, International President, Envision Digital. “We are therefore excited to share the first major development of our partnership with T-RECs.ai. Our customers will now not only use our AIoT system to enhance the productivity and efficiency of their energy assets in real-time, but also leverage its data, algorithms, interoperability and control functions to realise new revenue opportunities from offering RECs to RE100 and other likeminded companies. We will continue to innovate on the technology and business model fronts to support the economic journey to net zero.”
As part of a successful pilot project in June 2020, two Envision Digital customers that collectively own a total of 21.2 megawatts of rooftop solar assets in Tianjin and Guangdong, have had their RECs successfully registered and verified through T-RECs.ai’s REHash platform, and transacted. These are also the first ever solar energy assets from China to be registered on APX’s Tradable Instrument for Global Renewables (TIGRs) Registry, of which T-RECs.ai is one of few independent organisations appointed to facilitate RE100-compliant REC verification. Envision Digital and T-RECs.ai are now making this ecosystem solution available to renewable energy asset owners worldwide.
“We are bridging a longstanding gap in the market where there is strong demand from renewable energy users who do not know who or where to procure the RECs they need, and many renewable energy providers who have excess supply,” said Kang Jen Wee, Founder and CEO, T-RECs.ai. “This new ecosystem therefore streamlines the process of acquiring RECs and facilitates their sales using AI matching capabilities on our marketplace – but without any of the previously associated financial or fraud risks. Together with Envision Digital, we believe that we are delivering the platform of the future for transparent and traceable renewable energy transactions – one that can bring together all renewable energy providers and users as a collective fighting force against climate change.”
