A community solar project is one where many members subscribe to a solar farm. The output of the solar farm is purchased by their utility, which credits the members of the solar project on their utility bills. This allows people who are renting, who live in multi-unit buildings, or who are temporary residents to gain the financial and environmental benefits of solar energy without entering into long-term contracts for installing solar panels at their homes.
In this MVP concept, we could build a Virtual Community Renewable Energy Network which is similar to a community solar project. It would allow multiple parties to share in a renewable energy project together. The data would come from:
- Solar inverters – amount of electricity generated, if the project shared a solar farm
- Renewable Energy Certificates – purchased from renewable energy developers
- Utility bills – energy use by the members
A smart contract could obtain data for all members of the network from these data sources, then allocate the solar or REC's against each member's utility bills.
An additional blockchain could be set up to manage members' subscriptions, so that new members could stake to join a network or purchase shares from exiting members. The exact mechanics would depend on the local regulations for community solar projects.