ICO Review: WePower Network (WPR)
ICO starts February 1st 2018. KYC registrations now open.
Minimum contribution: 1 ETH.
https://wepower.network
WePower proposes to build a green energy network — a renewable energy trading and capital raising platform based on the Ethereum blockchain.
Unlike many other tokens, this one represents a tangible product, in this case electricity produced by the new renewable energy plants that it funds. This makes it a highly liquid token.
The project will begin in Estonia, Portugal, Germany and Spain, where new plants are already in planning. WePower expects to be producing power only nine months after the ICO.
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What the project aims to achieve
The idea is that WPR tokens will represent units of future energy production that you ‘pre-order’ when you purchase tokens. WePower then uses the capital raised from token sales to fund the construction of brand new green eneergy power plants including wind, hydro, solar, and tidal. Token holders can redeem tokens for the power the plants produce. Alternatively, holders will also be able to trade the tokens on the open market.
The result is bi-directionally efficient: first, consumers fund a project, cutting out the middlemen in capital investment; second, the project provides electricity direct to the consumers directly. To facilitate transmission, WePower has partnered with Elering, a transmission company in Europe.
By buying tokens, any person anywhere in the world can participate in the funding of new renewable energy projects.
The token value is constantly ‘topped up’ by producers, who donate 0.9% of the power they produce back into the tokens. In this way, token value is always on the rise, yet at a manageable rate.
What’s Good About WePower
What I like most about this project is their clear communication. With a lot of ICOs you might find yourself reading the entire website and still saying, “okay, but what does it DO?”
Not WePower. Right from the web page’s tagline, you know exactly what the goal is: a renewable energy trading and capital raising platform where tokens represent future power generation. Easy.
I *love* that I could find no grammar or spelling errors in their website copy and whitepaper. It’s not often you see that. This gives me a sense that the team is really paying attention to, and cares about, the details.
Their YouTube channel is full of short, bite-sized and easily-digestible videos that explain each of the project’s key features. I do recommend you go watch them before you read the Whitepaper, as the Whitepaper will then make a lot more sense.
Likewise, the community that WePower have built so far is well-maintained and vibrant, with lots of support. I was impressed with how well-moderated the Telegram group is — when I posted two stickers consecutively, the admin immediately PM’d me and politely said he was deleting the second one as it could be seen by others as too spammy. I thanked him.
On the monetary side, due to the nature of the tokens representing capital and energy, the tokens are highly liquid. They are far more likely to be used as intended, rather than hedged by speculators. Thus their value will be better represented, improving the resiliency of their value. The value also grows in real assets as the project grows, again better reflecting true value and reducing volatility.
WePower solves existing real-world problems: it moves us further towards non-fossil-fuel energy; it improves access to capital in an environment in which banks are making it more difficult for renewable energy to find funding; and it connects consumers directly with energy suppliers, promoting more conscious consumption. Smart metering will be applied from the ground-up.
Roadmap
This part is impressive. The WePower platform interface is ready today. You can try the demo version on their web page. The interfeace utilises MetaMask.
WePower are working on the launch of their pilot project with Elering. WePower claims that existing partnerships with several renewable energy producers allow WePower to be operational within 9 months of the ICO.
Several plants are already in the pipeline and set up to receive funding according to am existing schedule over the initial two years in operation.
These guys are superduper organised. It makes me happy.
Where WePower Will Operate
The first energy projects will be built in Estonia, Spain, Germany and Portugal, with plenty of scope to expand further. WePower will specialise in hydro, wind, and solar projects.
The Team — Can They Do It?
Co-founders Nikolaj Martyniuk and Artūras Asakavičius hail from Estonia and Lithuania respectively.
Mr Martyniuk has 10 years’ experience in the energy sector, building solar plants, buying and selling green certificates, and was involved in importing and exporting energy in and out of Estonia.
Mr Asakavičius is a practising lawyer, responsible for fintech blockchain and crypto portfolios within the firm. He was twice named by the EU Commission as Lithuanian Crowdfunding Patron.
They are joined by 21 other core team members with excellent résumés in software development, legal, marketing, accounting, and payment platforms. They’ve plugged every gap that I can see, and quite a few more.
This team absolutely has the ability to pull off this project.
The Partners
WePower recently announced a partnership with Australian entity StartupBootCamp. They have chosen WePower to be its first portfolio company using a token ecosystem to incentivize and facilitate green energy adoption.
They have partnered with Bancor Protocol to provide WPR token holders with continuous and autonomous liquidity in the crypto world.
Energy partners include Elering, Conquista Solar in Spain, and global renewables engineering company Novacorex. These are big players.
Twelve other major strategic partners provide support. (See website for details.)
Summary
WePower addresses real-world problems with a practical assignment of value to their tokens. It is a well-managed and thoughtful project run by well-qualified people with the pedigree to pull the project off. There is a vibrant community in support, and the professional relationships needed to begin are in place.
Since the tokenomics are so well-managed, I don’t expect this to be a full-on roarer of a value increase in tokens; however, the same features ensure a high degree of certainty around a steady rise in value over time.
Finally, if you value being personally and directly involved in solving some of the world’s greatest problems, this ICO is for you.
ICO begins 1 February 2018, minimum investment 1 ETH.
KYC is underway, register via the website.
Website:
https://wepower.network
Telegram group:
https://t.me/WePowerNetwork
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/WePowerN
YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c…/UCsocTWqQzDvoLBf2sVj96lQ/featured