A Private Blockchain Based P2P Energy Trading Platform for Energy Users

Abstract

With the rapid rise of renewable energy sources (RES) in energy grids, the need for secure peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading platforms are increasing. Such platforms should allow energy users to buy/sell energy, participate in bids, and negotiate prizes. The decentralized blockchain architecture makes it suitable for building an efficient energy trading platform. In this paper, we propose a private blockchain-based energy trading platform using a proof of authority (PoA) consensus algorithm for energy users within a neighbourhood or a microgrid. The private Ethereum blockchain is configured using three Raspberry Pi 4 models, which act as three nodes on the network. The trading process is implemented using a smart contract deployed on the nodes by configuring each node as a buyer and seller. The nodes can add offers, choose offers, and trade energy within the nodes in the network. All the transactions are recorded on the blockchain. For ease of demonstration, Python Flask and HTTP-based interaction environment is developed.