Analyst Insight: Blockchain for Certificates of Origin Tracking

Since 2012, Guidehouse Insights has tracked 504 total energy blockchain projects and 304 unique vendors. Of those 504 projects, 27% employ blockchain technology for Certificates of Origin (COO). COOs are the second highest category behind transactive energy, which remains the top use case in the energy blockchain space. It includes 40% of all projects aimed at using blockchain technology to provide an open energy trading marketplace. The deployment of COO projects has remained steady since 2018, with an average of ten projects announced each year. 

Guidehouse Insights Guidehouse defines COOs as blockchain-based Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs). EACs are available in the form of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) in the US, Guarantees of Origin (GOs) in Europe, and International-RECs (I-RECs). One EAC is issued per 1 MWh or renewable energy produced and can be bought by corporations to reach renewable energy goals. EACs are most commonly issued on a yearly basis, though additional companies and vendors are looking at granular EACs, or Time-based EACs (T-EACs). The blockchain-based COO market has significant potential in the short term and in the long term, particularly as multinational companies look to 24/7 carbon free energy (CFE) renewables throughout the day and push the market toward help transition the market towards detailed, granular EACs.