Acwa leads cryptocurrency play

Saudi-owned Acwa Power has bought into the cryptocurrency trend by becoming the first major developer to adopt a reward programme for solar generation. SolarCoin provides digital tokens for every MWh of solar energy produced. Acwa Power said the deal would “provide a supplementary means of payment for goods and services”. SolarCoin operates like other cryptocurrencies, which have to be earned or ‘mined’ in some way. Bitcoin is mined by decrypting a digital code, which requires a large amount of computer power.