Fostering Energy Transition in Smart Cities: DLTs for Peer-to-Peer Electricity Trading

Abstract

This paper explores the applications of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) electricity trading. It highlights the challenges and trade-offs of applying three different DLTs: Blockchain, Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG), and Holochain. First, the study introduces the energy transition concept in the smart city context. Second, P2P electricity trading and its supporting trading mechanisms are introduced. Third, DLTs are defined and three different types of DLTs are introduced. Forth, possibilities, challenges, and consequences of applying DLTs in electricity trading are explained. Last, applying DLTs for P2P electricity trading from different aspects are discussed. This paper provides a benchmark for applying DLTs to foster energy transition in smart cities. It highlights how this type of technology can serve smart circular economy.