An Australian and French partnership in renewable energy is allowing customers to choose which mode of renewable energy technology their power comes from using blockchain technology.

Power Ledger and ekWateur believe that by giving customers the choice of their preferred renewable, they will encourage more to adopt green energy tariffs.

The two firms are working in partnership to give around 250,000 French customers the chance to pick and choose their preferred energy mix, making use of blockchain technology to accurately and securely process each choice.

To make this happen, 220,000 electricity meters owned by ekWakteur will be linked to a blockchain-powered tool called Vision created by Power Ledger.

EkWakteur offers 100% renewable power supplied through solar PV, wind turbines and hydraulic reservoirs. It is also the first energy company in France to offer 100% renewable gas delivered by biomethane.

Using the new tool, customers will choose their preferred mix of green energy technology and input it via the Vision tool, which will use blockchain to record and certify their choice.

For example, they could source energy from local solar PV panels or from a wind farm located offshore. The choice will be made entirely by the customer. The technology is set to go live later this year, and it is believed to be a world first in flexible, consumer-led energy trading.

Earlier this year, the Economic and Social Research Institute in Ireland said that they believed blockchain would be the key to revolutionising the renewable energy industry, helping to support forward-sales of renewables and to tokenise the interactions that take place between customers and energy providers.

Power Ledger is also pioneering a trial of blockchain-powered peer-to-peer trading of clean energy within rural Australia in another innovative first that will help to drive clean energy forwards.