DLIVE - Can Crypto Really Save the Planet??? 9 Worthwhile WePower Fact

Today we'll review the WePower ICO. It's a renewable energy project offering a blockchain based green energy trading platform.

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Number 9: What is WePower?
WePower is a green energy trading platform operating on blockchain technology. Through WePower, renewable energy producers can raise capital through the issuance of their own energy tokens. These tokens are basically a representation of the energy they commit to produce and deliver. It’s no secret that the current energy investment ecosystem can be standardized, simplified, and extended globally through energy tokenization. The peer-to-peer WePower platform enables energy producers to trade directly with parties interested in buying green energy, such as investors and consumers; and also raise capital by selling energy upfront at rates that are below current market price.
Number 8: Why Was WePower Created?
When considering the current state of the global climate, access to renewable energy seems more important than ever. The problem is that before a private green energy project can be developed, it must first procure capital...and that can be a straining process. There are a number of intermediary players that come between green energy producers and consumers. The green energy market is dominated by banks, hedge funds, or private equity funds. Market bottlenecks are created, and the process of developing renewable energy resources is slowed down. Producers might face a long and expensive capital acquisition process while battling a constant lack of their own funds or the capital needed for their developing projects. Things aren’t much better on the investors’ side either. They may lack access to transparent investments on a local or global scale, and face a complicated investment process. WePower was created to tackle problems head-on through blockchain technology and energy tokenization. It hopes to provide fast and transparent capital access for producers as well as investment access for consumers, all carried out on a global scale.
Number 7: How does WePower Work?
I’m going to try to explain how WePower works without diving too deep into the system’s operational complexity. One thing to know is that WePower is built on the Ethereum Network. As I’ve previously mentioned before, WePower basically cuts out all the middlemen and directly connects green energy buyers and producers, and also offers the opportunity to purchase energy upfront at advantageous rates. Liquidity is ensured and access to capital is extended through energy tokenization. Moreover, it will enable everyone to trade in renewable energy on a global level. From a legal standpoint, WePower acts as an independent energy supplier, allowing its platform to be connected to the energy grid, the local energy market, and end users. It receives information regarding the produced and consumed energy, as well as about the price of said energy. Once a producer connects to WePower, his future energy production is tokenized. The process is based on the kilowatt-hour unit, and one internal energy token represents one kWh that will be produced at a certain time in the future. When the producer needs initial capital to put into a new renewable energy project, they can choose to sell a portion of the energy they plan on producing in the future on the WePower platform. This energy is acquired by the buyer in the form of internal energy tokens. Each of these tokens operates as a smart contract indicating the type of energy, the time stamp when the energy will be produced and delivered, as well as its price tag. An operational demo of the WePower platform has been made available and features an easy implementation of its protocol for both consumers and producers.
Number 6: What is WePower’s Token Model?
A dual token system lies at the heart of WePower. WePower (or WPR tokens) facilitate platform trading, while the energy tokens provide smart contracts secured on the blockchain. Each renewable energy plant connected to WePower will be able to auction its tokenized energy. WPR token holders will have priority access to the energy auction during the first 48 hours. They’ll be able to buy the renewable energy at the best initial price set by the auctioneer in proportion to the amount of WPR tokens held at that time. This model is vital towards attracting traders and speculators as it may provide them with great opportunities. After the 48 hours are up, anyone can take part in the auction. WPR holders will also be granted access to the green energy donation pool. Producers on the WePower platform will have to donate 0.9% of their energy tokens to WPR token holders. This means that holders will continue to acquire value in the form of access to real energy credits. Owners of energy tokens will have the option of using the energy when it is produced (if they live in an area where WePower operates), of selling it on the WePower Platform before it's produced, or of selling the energy to a wholesale market when it's produced and receiving the equivalent price in crypto currency or fiat. WePower describes its WPR as the “next generation token” and the next stage in token economy evolution. It attributes this to the fact that WePower doesn’t tokenize the company's future cash flows or equity, which it argues has no intrinsic value. Instead it tokenizes energy, which has measurable value and an established market. The token model was also clarified with the European regulator through its structure as a reward-based form of crowdfunding.
Number 5: What Are Some Details Regarding WePower’s ICO?
The ICO was held on February 1st, 2018, and the team reached its fundraising goal of $40 million along with the private pre-sale held from September 22nd till October 23rd, 2017. ICODrops.com rated the offering as being of “high interest.” The US wasn’t allowed to participate and the price of a WePower ERC20 token was placed at $0.13 per token. WePower stated an intention of using 45% of its raised funds towards developing the platform, 15% to integrating the platform across the energy infrastructures of targeted markets, and another 15% to ensuring its compliance with energy sector requirements. 25% of the funds would be allocated to the project’s expansion and operations.
Number 4: What Are WePower’s Strengths?
The main benefit that can easily be deduced is that this platform works towards a better future for the planet and its inhabitants at a point that many consider crucial for the environment. For producers, its model offers a 20-25% equity increase. The team has a total of $1.22 billion worth of solar energy development projects behind them, following the decision by Conquista Solar, Civitas Projects, and Novocorex to sign up to use the platform. Buyers will be able to purchase energy upfront at low costs and, since the rights to it are held in a smart contract, it essentially guarantees the liquidity of unused energy, which can be sold in the market. One of the best aspects about the platform is that consumers don’t need to know anything about the blockchain to use it. For many households, it will simply represent a means of purchasing electricity at a reduced cost and will offer them easier access to renewable energy. The fact that users don’t really need to understand the underlying technology in order to use it may represent a huge step towards bringing blockchain technology to the mainstream. WePower has already partnered up with Estonian electricity transmission company Elering with the plan of launching a country-wide tokenization pilot in April of 2018. It also has partners in Australia and Spain. In addition, they joined hands with Startup Bootcamp Energy Australia, one of the biggest startup accelerators in the world. The program chose WePower as its first portfolio company to use the tokenized model to facilitate and encourage the adoption of green energy.
Number 3: What Difficulties Will WePower Face?
Competition is one issue that WePower might face since there are other similar projects that feature the tokenization of energy. Power Ledger, which is set to be one of its major rivals, has set its goals on Australia, the same country that WePower aims to operate in. Nevertheless, since the overall objective is to spread and facilitate the use of renewable energy, competition might very well be a positive aspect in the grand scheme of things. Another difficulty has to do with the fact that the energy sector is highly regulated and varies from country to country. Sharing one platform might be hard for certain governments and companies to get on board with. This raises a concern, especially since the platform's growth also relies on the number of entities that adopt it.
Number 2: What Is the Future of WePower?
According to their roadmap—which is extensively covered in the project’s whitepaper—WePower has three development stages planned. These are: WePower Breeze, WePower Storm and WePower Hurricane. The Breeze engineering phase is to integrate the WPR token and the Energy token to regional wholesale and local energy retail markets that can function with renewable energy plants. As more consumers and plants connect to the platform, WePower will enter its Storm phase; offering additional optimization features for users and local power grids to incorporate more renewable energy into the grid and onto the platform. The Hurricane stage will improve the platform's scalability by lowering transaction costs, automating and simplifying the user interface, and by introducing “AI powered system-wide optimization.”
Number 1: Who Is Behind WePower?
The project features an Estonian-Lithuanian team, and is registered as WePower LTD in Gibraltar. It is supported by the Republic of Lithuania’s Ministry of Energy and already has several notable partners, which I’ve mentioned earlier in this video. As of this recording, the team is comprised of 15 to 20 staff members and a group of advisors with experience in fields like AI, energy, blockchain, and more. WePower’s co-founder and CEO is Nikolaj Martyniuk, who also co-founded the Smart Energy Fund. He has a background in renewable energy development, ranging from plant construction to sales via independent energy suppliers. He will oversee the project’s business development and overall strategy. Arturas Asakavicius has a background in Fintech and regulation, and has been recognized as a Lithuanian Crowdfunding Patron by the EU Commission. Its CTO is Kaspar Kaarlep, who—for the past 7 years—has been working on green energy integration from various angles, and is also a former CTO of a national DSO (or distribution system operator). As is always the case with all great endeavors, time will only tell if the team will be successful in its goal of helping to bring the world’s renewable energy incorporation to 100%. So far, WePower boasts an experienced team, impressive partners, and a solid roadmap on which it’s already taken some huge first steps.

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