Wozniak Unleashes Power Of Blockchain To Drive Investments In Energy Efficiency

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is doing what he does best — disrupting traditional thinking with new ideas. Last week, he announced on Medium,  “After spending most of this year in stealth mode to build its architecture and service the first batch of test projects, EFFORCE is ready to begin its journey to become the gateway towards a more sustainable future by merging cutting edge technology with over a decade of direct market experience in the energy sector.”

Credit: EFFORCE

Okay. What is EFFORCE and what does it do? Basically, the whole world is focused on generating electricity from renewable sources. But reducing the total amount of energy consumed is just as necessary to reducing global carbon emissions as producing more energy from whatever source. The problem is getting investors to embrace the idea.

EFFORCE wants to break down those investment barriers so the important work of making residential and commercial buildings more energy efficient can move forward.”Through EFFORCE, the energy savings of a third party are tokenized and can be used by everyone,” the company claims. EFFORCE will use a new form of digital currency known as the WOZX which will be traded electronically on two digital exchanges — HBTC.com and Bithumb Global.

“Efficiency improvements span across all industries and geographies, however as of today, these opportunities are still not equally accessible to everyone. For this reason, EFFORCE created a borderless participation system tearing down boundaries and lowering barriers to entry.

“Through the platform, energy service companies (ESCO’s) will increase their operational capabilities by being able to effectively list their current projects in front of a wider audience, while contributors from all over the world will be benefiting alongside companies for their support. Thanks to energy efficiency improvements, companies immediately begin to lower their consumption of energy which results in the direct ability to decrease their cost structure and reduce the carbon footprint on the environment.”

In a statement reported by CNBC, Wozniak said, “Energy consumption and CO2 emissions worldwide have grown exponentially, leading to climate change and extreme consequences to our environment. We can improve our energy footprint and lower our energy consumption without changing our habits. We can save the environment simply by making more energy improvements.” Wozniak adds he created EFFORCE “to be the first decentralized platform that allows everyone to participate and benefit financially from worldwide energy efficiency projects, and create meaningful environmental change.” CNBC wisely adds that all forms of cryptocurrency are subject to large fluctuations in their value.

Jacopo Visetti, project leader and co-founder of EFFORCE said in a separate statement, “In these difficult times, many small companies are struggling. They can’t afford to switch to LED lighting, streamline production processes, or even insulate to conserve heat, all of which could save them money in the long term. EFFORCE allows business owners to safely register their energy upgrade project on the web and secure funding from all types of investors around the world. The companies will then have more available cash to use for other critical projects such as infrastructure or hiring.”

The company added, “This alignment of interest creates a win-win ecosystem for all parties making EFFORCE the only viable technology bridge into a $ 250 billion market with 10% annual growth which can bring meaningful change to our environmental future.”

The Take Away

I will be the first to admit I am not half as smart at Steve Wozniak. Nor do I pretend to understand what blockchain is all about except in the most general terms. But I do understand that investors are seriously risk averse people, so anything the great and powerful Woz can do to break down the barriers to investments in energy conservation is a worthy endeavor and should be applauded.