A new study by the Natural Gas Futures research and innovation consortium, conducted in partnership with FortisBC and Xpansiv, finds that the blockchain technology could potentially reduce both GHG emissions and costs for UBC to achieve its sustainability commitments.

Under its aggressive Climate Action Plan, UBC is aiming to reduce its GHG emissions from the Vancouver campus by 67% by 2020 and by 100% by 2050, from the 2007 level. In order to achieve its sustainability commitments, UBC needs to be strategic on choosing the energy mix of the energy supply system, which currently consists of conventional natural gas, renewable natural gas and biomass.

The blockchain technology allows for differentiated natural gas units based on their environmental impacts. The sustainability features associated with the natural gas commodity, such as GHG emissions, production techniques and leak rates, can be commercialized as environmental attributes. The blockchain technology can therefore increase the stakeholder’s procurement options – differentiated conventional natural gas, differentiated renewable natural gas, as well as the standalone environmental attributes. This process can potentially reduce the overall costs of GHG emissions reduction through savings in carbon offset and carbon tax payments.

This study also points out several challenges for implementing the blockchain system in the energy sector, such as acceptance and recognition from the stakeholders (producers, traders, utilities, consumers and governments), system implementation costs, data acquisition and accuracy, and technology scalability.

The full study is available online: https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0389638