Do you think these really have the potential to completely change the way people buy and sell energy?
I'm really bullish on the idea of a decentralized system for buying / selling renewable energy, especially solar.
The problem is, i don't see how this will be implemented in a decentralized way because energy requires hardware. Without hardware that connects electricity from one country to another, we cannot build decentralized grids. Implementation wise, there will still be a lot of centralization. When centralization happens, what then makes this company different from (or more importantly, what makes it better than) existing electric companies? Nothing.
I think I can explain. By opening a franchise with RED ( Restart Energy Democracy ) you will get the hardware (power plants and grids) you require. With the hardware in your city, you can pay your electricity with their tokens - Mwat. The decentralized part comes with the possibility for the customer to buy the energy directly from the producer, with no middle man - cheaper bills.