Skip to main content

Technological Background

One of the key reasons for establishing an energy community is to reduce reliance on the centralized power grid. This strategy brings a number of benefits, including:

  • Maintaining energy security by ensuring a stable and reliable local energy supply

  • Decreasing dependence on external energy providers, allowing the community greater control over its energy sources

  • Improving resilience to grid disruptions, ensuring that the community can continue functioning even during outages or emergencies

  • Minimizing exposure to price fluctuations in the energy market, helping members manage energy costs more effectively

However, independence also requires data privacy; therefore, blockchain technology and Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) play a significant role in enabling and enhancing the functionality of energy communities.

KILT Blockchain Protocol​

Energy communities are decentralized networks where individuals or organizations can generate, share, and manage energy locally. Some of the advantages are:

  • Decentralization: Eliminates central control, empowering local communities to manage their own energy resources

  • Transparency: Ensures all transactions are visible and auditable, fostering trust within the community

  • Security: Protects data and transactions through cryptographic techniques, ensuring trust and safety

  • Smart Contracts: Automates agreements, reducing the need for intermediaries and increasing efficiency

  • Peer-to-Peer Trading: Enables direct energy exchanges between community members, promoting autonomy and cost-effectiveness

For blockchain technology, Decent.ec uses the KILT blockchain protocol to enable users, organizations, and devices to create, issue, and verify digital identities while retaining full control over personal data. Key Features of KILT Protocol:

  • Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI): Empowers users to manage their digital identities independently, storing credentials securely without relying on central servers

  • Verifiable Credentials: Users can obtain credentials from trusted entities that others can cryptographically verify, ideal for proving identity, certifications, or qualifications

  • Privacy by Design: Users share only the minimum necessary data – or zero-knowledge proofs – ensuring privacy and data control

  • Trust and Transparency: The KILT Protocol leverages blockchain to anchor credentials, making them tamper-proof and verifiable while ensuring transparency for issuers and verifiers

  • Polkadot Ecosystem: As a Polkadot parachain, KILT leverages interoperability with other blockchains, supporting diverse applications

For more details, click here to visit the provider’s website.

Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs)​

Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) play a crucial role in ensuring the privacy and security of participants. DIDs allow members and devices to manage their digital identities without relying on a central authority, fostering greater control and autonomy within the energy community.

DIDs are closely connected to blockchain technology, as blockchain provides the foundation for creating, verifying, and managing DIDs in a secure, decentralized, and trustless manner.