Energy Optimization in Smart Microgrid: A Modified Particle Swarm Optimization Approach with Smart Contract

Abstract

In recent years, various renewable energy sources along with energy storage systems for power generation have grown significantly due to fossil fuel depletion and increasing environmental concerns. Optimizing energy flow in this system is crucial for efficient resource utilization while adhering to system constraints. Conventional methods for energy optimization include operators or intermediaries which have their own limitations. By using blockchain technology in energy optimization, intermediaries/operators are avoided. Also, its use offers other advantages such as higher security, transparency and immutability of energy transactions. This paper introduces an approach for energy optimization using blockchain in smart microgrid system. A modified algorithm based on new particle swarm optimization (NPSO) is employed for this purpose. The algorithm is executed with the help of smart contract. It schedules, distributed energy sources and determines charging and discharging of energy storage system, while adhering to various system constraints. The algorithm is deployed and tested on a ganache platform which is based on Ethereum. The results obtained from this modified algorithm are compared with the standard PSO algorithm, demonstrating its effectiveness. The study is conducted on a typical smart microgrid system comprising three prosumers, and the results are presented.