# Decentralized Energy and DePIN

With the emergence of zero-carbon and zero marginal cost electricity, along with a large influx of digitized energy devices into the power system, traditional independent power systems are evolving into the Energy Internet. Consequently, the volatility issues of the Energy Internet are being addressed through software solutions, namely Virtual Power Plants (VPP). Key global players in the VPP sector include companies like Tesla, OhmConnect (US CA), David Energy (US NY), Con Edison (US NY), Sunrun (US), Virtual Peaker (US), ShiftedEnergy (US Hawaii), Octopus (UK), Next Kraftwerke (Germany), SwitchDin (Australia), Itochu (Japan), each addressing the instability issues of the energy network from different angles through software solutions.

<figure><img src="https://2726771204-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F20DrXWOpSys28NJxa4ca%2Fuploads%2F7ny4BlorMIGiw6jXY54z%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=f86c33c6-5221-462f-bac5-172aa76fbc4a" alt="" width="563"><figcaption><p>Virtual Power Plants Innovators(Representative)</p></figcaption></figure>

Software-based solutions are indeed the correct path to address the volatility issues of the Energy Internet, but what is currently missing is a dispatchable global communication layer for energy devices, a bottleneck in the development of the aforementioned companies. They are tasked not only with providing software solutions and algorithms for intelligent scheduling of energy devices but also with the promotion and deployment of hardware, making them more akin to IT system service providers than pure software companies. Starpower aims to create a communication layer for energy devices, similar to the TCP/IP layer of the information internet, but with the added incentive of Web3 tokens, addressing the difficult problem of economic value capture at the protocol layer, a longstanding issue with the information internet.

Starpower plays a crucial role in the workflow of Virtual Power Plants (VPP), acting as a hub for the flow of information between global Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and local VPP service providers. As an intelligent network coordinator, Starpower collects DER data from around the world, which after thorough analysis, is provided to VPP service providers. This allows VPP service providers to trade and manage electricity in local power grids with unprecedented efficiency, optimize resource allocation, reduce energy costs, and potentially drive larger-scale applications of renewable energy. Starpower enhances the intelligence of power grids, promotes energy efficiency, facilitates more refined operations in the electricity market, and achieves a win-win situation for both economic and environmental benefits.

As an intelligent network coordinator, Starpower's adoption of decentralized blockchain technology is critical, as it greatly enhances the security, stability, and transparency of the entire power network. Decentralized technology strengthens the system's resilience through dispersed network nodes, reducing reliance on any single point of failure, thereby improving the system's robustness. The flexibility and scalability of this architecture allow numerous small-scale distributed energy resources to collaborate seamlessly, collectively contributing to the power grid.

In terms of protecting user privacy, the application of decentralized technology is a significant advancement. It protects user data from unauthorized access and tampering by strengthening data encryption and strict access control. Smart contracts and verification algorithms ensure the authenticity and validity of DER resource information, automatically executing agreements and establishing trust among different network participants.
