Fintech RE in a global finance centre: Expert perceptions of the benefits of and challenges to digital financing of distributed and decentralised renewables in Hong Kong

Decarbonisation efforts at the decentralised and distributed level, such as solar photovoltaic or wind installations with storage in homes or buildings, can be funded through digital fintech instruments via, for example, peer-to -peer trading in a blockchain ecosystem. This financial innovation melds the energy transition agenda with the digital economy, delivering what can be called fintech RE. This paper explores this innovation by focusing on expert perceptions from Hong Kong, a global financial centre envisaging to become a hub for regional and in-ternational green finance. Interviews involving respondents from three divergent industries - energy, digital technology, and finance - solicited expert perceptions of the likely impacts of this emergent innovation on Hong Kong and their respective industries. While interview data suggest potential benefits of fintech RE - particularly in terms of new opportunities for citizen participation in energy transition via a decentralised energy market, new jobs, and contribution to decarbonisation, this innovation also presents a challenge to the territory's distinct electricity market arrangement, the spatial issues with scaling and speeding energy transition in a dense envi-ronment, and its attendant emission pitfalls.

Automated summary

Decentralised and distributed decarbonisation efforts, such as solar photovoltaic or wind installations with storage in homes or buildings, can be funded through digital fintech instruments, such as peer-to-peer trading in a blockchain ecosystem. This financial innovation, known as fintech RE, combines the energy transition agenda with the digital economy. This paper examines the impact of this innovation on Hong Kong and its respective industries, based on expert perceptions from the energy, digital technology, and finance sectors.