Use Cases

Ongrid Protocol empowers stakeholders to participate in the clean energy revolution by providing a decentralized platform for financing, tracking, and monetizing renewable energy projects in emerging markets. Below are key use cases that illustrate how our platform delivers value to investors, solar companies, communities, and carbon credit buyers through blockchain-driven transparency, DePIN technology, and carbon markets.

1. Impact Investing in Solar Projects

Scenario: An impact investor wants to fund clean energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, seeking both financial returns and measurable environmental impact.

• How Ongrid Helps:

  • The investor accesses the Ongrid Protocol web platform (ongridprotocol.com) and browses vetted solar projects in emerging markets.

  • They select a project powering a rural school in Kenya, committing $10,000 through the Investment Management Smart Contract.

  • The smart contract locks the funds in escrow, releasing them to the solar company upon installation verification (confirmed via energy data from EdmondX devices).

  • Real-time energy production data is streamed via the libp2p network and displayed on the investor’s dashboard, showing the school now generates 5 MWh/month, powering 50 classrooms.

  • The investor receives monthly repayments (e.g., 5% annual yield) through the smart contract, along with 4 tons of on-chain carbon credits for the CO2 reduced, which they can trade or hold.

  • All transactions and energy data are stored immutably on Arweave, ensuring transparency and auditability.

• Outcome:

  • Investor: Earns sustainable returns, receives carbon credits, and sees real-time impact (e.g., 200 students with access to electricity).

  • Solar Company: Gains capital to install solar panels, expanding their operations.

  • Community: The school benefits from reliable power, improving education outcomes.

2. Scaling Solar Operations with Flexible Financing

Scenario: A small solar company in Nigeria needs capital to install solar systems for 100 rural households but lacks access to traditional bank loans.

• How Ongrid Helps:

  • The solar company applies for funding through the Ongrid platform, submitting project details and financial projections.

  • Ongrid’s backend verifies the application, listing the project for investors to fund. Within a week, the project secures $50,000 from multiple investors via the Investment Management Smart Contract.

  • The company installs solar systems, equipping each with an EdmondX device to track energy production in real time.

  • Energy data (e.g., 20 MWh generated across households) is transmitted via the libp2p network, aggregated by the Data Aggregation Service, and used by the Carbon Credit Issuance Smart Contract to issue 16 tons of carbon credits.

  • The company repays investors over time through the smart contract, using revenue from energy sales to households.

  • Investors and the company can track project performance on their dashboards, with all data and repayments recorded on Arweave for transparency.

• Outcome:

  • Solar Company: Accesses capital to scale, powering 100 households and generating additional revenue from carbon credits.

  • Investors: Receive repayments and carbon credits, with full visibility into project impact.

  • Community: Households gain reliable electricity, improving quality of life and enabling economic activities (e.g., small businesses).

3. Transparent Carbon Credit Trading for Businesses

Scenario: A European company needs to offset 50 tons of CO2 to meet its sustainability goals and prefers verified, blockchain-backed carbon credits.

• How Ongrid Helps:

  • The company accesses Ongrid’s carbon credit marketplace via the web platform, where credits issued by solar projects are listed.

  • The Carbon Credit Issuance Smart Contract has already minted credits based on verified energy data (e.g., 1 MWh = 0.8 tons CO2 reduced, per Verra methodology).

  • The company purchases 50 carbon credits at $20 each through the Carbon Credit Trading Smart Contract, which handles the transaction, transfers the tokens, and charges a 2% fee ($20).

  • The credits are backed by energy data from solar projects in Asia, with all production records stored on Arweave. The company verifies the data using transaction hashes on the blockchain.

  • The purchase is recorded on the blockchain, and the company receives a certificate of offset, which it uses for sustainability reporting.

• Outcome:

  • Buyer: Offsets 50 tons of CO2 with verified, transparent credits, meeting regulatory and ESG goals.

  • Solar Company/Investor: Earns revenue from credit sales, incentivizing further clean energy projects.

  • Environment: Supports CO2 reduction in emerging markets, contributing to global climate goals.

4. Real-Time Energy Monitoring for Community Impact

Scenario: A rural hospital in India relies on a solar system funded through Ongrid Protocol and needs to ensure consistent power while demonstrating impact to donors.

• How Ongrid Helps:

  • The hospital’s solar system is equipped with an EdmondX device, which registers with the ICP Canister and joins the libp2p network.

  • The device measures energy production (e.g., 10 MWh/month) and transmits data in real time to the network, where it’s propagated to other nodes.

  • The Data Aggregation Service processes the data, feeding it to the Carbon Credit Issuance Smart Contract, which issues 8 tons of carbon credits for the hospital’s solar company or investors.

  • Investors and donors access the hospital’s energy data via the Ongrid dashboard, seeing that the system powers critical equipment (e.g., ventilators, lighting) for 500 patients/month.

  • All data is stored on Arweave, providing an immutable record for audits and donor reporting.

• Outcome:

  • Hospital: Ensures reliable power, improving healthcare delivery (e.g., 500 patients served monthly).

  • Investors/Donors: Gain transparency into the project’s impact, encouraging further support.

  • Solar Company: Earns carbon credits, creating an additional revenue stream.