In future power systems with the characteristics of high-elastic, demand response (DR) is considered to be an essential way for improving system stability and awakening demand-side resources. However, all the DR programs in China are implemented in a centralized model, which is easier for supervision, but hard to deal with the challenges of data credibility, privacy protection, transaction efficiency, and so on. Therefore, a novel blockchain-based framework for the DR program is proposed to deal with the problems. On this basis, the bidding transaction process based on the repeated verification mechanism is designed, and the effectiveness of blockchain in DR is analyzed. Then, the smart contract functions involved in DR bidding transactions and subsidy settlement are customized. The feasibility of the DR bidding mechanism is illustrated by the simulation results on the platform of Remix IDE.
Virtual power plant (VPP) composed of a large number of distributed energy resources (DERs) has become a regional multienergy aggregation model to realize the large-scale integration of renewable energy generation into the grid. Due to the characteristics of centralized management, the existing energy operation mode is difficult to simply apply to distributed energy resources transactions. The decentralization, transparency, contract execution automation and traceability of blockchain technology provide a new solution to the aggregation of decentralized resources and the opacity of transactions in VPP. In this paper, the existing problems of virtual power plants are analyzed, and the virtual power plant trading model is designed, which realizes the transparent benefit distribution and message transmission of virtual power plants. The virtual power plant blockchain network based on blockchain technology in this model solves the DERs coordination problem in VPP and the security and efficiency problems in information transmission. Combined with the actual situation of virtual power plant, the blockchain network collaboration mechanism (BNCM), which is convenient to reach agreement, is designed. Compared with the traditional practical Byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) consensus algorithm, this mechanism can make DERs reach a consensus quickly. Finally, simulation experiments on the consensus algorithm show that the algorithm can reduce the collaboration time between DERs under the premise of ensuring the same fault tolerance rate and is more suitable for VPP scenarios with a large number of DERs.
Governments’ net zero emission target aims at increasing the share of renewable energy sources as well as influencing the behaviours of consumers to support the cost-effective balancing of energy supply and demand. These will be achieved by the advanced information and control infrastructures of smart grids which allow the interoperability among various stakeholders. Under this circumstance, increasing number of consumers produce, store, and consume energy, giving them a new role of prosumers. The integration of prosumers and accommodation of incurred bidirectional flows of energy and information rely on two key factors: flexible structures of energy markets and intelligent operations of power systems. The blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) are innovative technologies to fulfil these two factors, by which the blockchain provides decentralised trading platforms for energy markets and the AI supports the optimal operational control of power systems. This paper attempts to address how to incorporate the blockchain and AI in the smart grids for facilitating prosumers to participate in energy markets. To achieve this objective, first, this paper reviews how policy designs price carbon emissions caused by the fossil-fuel based generation so as to facilitate the integration of prosumers with renewable energy sources. Second, the potential structures of energy markets with the support of the blockchain technologies are discussed. Last, how to apply the AI for enhancing the state monitoring and decision making during the operations of power systems is introduced.
Ümit Cali, D. Jonathan Sebastian-Cardenas, Shammya Shananda Saha, Shawn Chandler · 10 authors
This work presents a formal review of smart contracts, including definitions, technical requirements, and potential power and energy-related use cases. This includes in-depth discussions covering cybersecurity, legality and interoperability goals that must be taken into consideration by potential end-users. The paper presents a first attempt towards the standardization of smart contracts (SCs) within the field of power and energy as a work in progress activity under the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) P2418.5 Working Group. This work also proposes a holistic, language-agnostic reference model that is intended to accelerate the adoption of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) by industry stakeholders by providing standardized processes. Finally, the paper discusses key takeaways that must continue to be developed to increase SC usage within the energy industry.
Michel Zadé, Marcello Feroce, Arturo Guridi, Sebastian Dirk Lumpp · 5 authors
Abstract The continuous decentralisation of the energy system due to the expansion of renewable energies requires new coordination mechanisms such as Local Energy Markets (LEMs) that are capable of integrating millions of prosumers as active participants. Since the end of the 2010s, the blockchain technology has been discussed as a potential infrastructure for LEMs and as a potential game‐changer in the energy industry. In this work, the authors introduce LEM specific technology‐independent infrastructure requirements, present a Solidity and Python toolbox that allows to compute a comparative performance analysis between a blockchain‐based and a central LEM and evaluate the added value of a blockchain‐based implementation compared to a conventional reference implementation. Simulations of a LEM with a periodic double auction and settlement showed that a blockchain‐based LEM operation requires more than 140 times the computation time compared to a centralised implementation and cannot fulfil data security requirements. Thus, the authors find that blockchain technology in its current state of development does not add significant value to LEMs. All implemented programmes are published in the open‐source project lemlab as part of the research project RegHEE .
Marthe Fogstad Dynge, Ugur Halden, Gro Klæboe, Ümit Cali
Support schemes like the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) have for many years been an important driver for the deployment of distributed energy resources, and the transition from consumerism to prosumerism. This democratization and decarbonization of the energy system has led to both challenges and opportunities for the system operators, paving the way for emerging concepts like local energy markets. The FiT approach has often been assumed as the lower economic bound for a prosumer's willingness to participate in such markets but is now being phased out in several countries. In this paper, a new pricing mechanism based on the Levelized Cost of Electricity is proposed, with the intention of securing profitability for the prosumers, as well as creating a transparent and fair price for all market participants. The mechanism is designed to function on a Distributed Ledger Technology-based platform and is further set up from a holistic perspective, defining the market framework as interactions in a Cyber-Physical-Social-System. Schemes based on both fixed and variable contracts with the wholesale supplier are analyzed and compared with both the conventional FiT and to its proposed replacement options. The results show a cost reduction for the consumers and a slight loss in revenue for the prosumers compared to the FiT scheme. Comparing it to the actual suggested replacements to the FiT, however, it is clear that the pricing mechanism proposed in this study provides a substantial increase of benefits for both prosumers and consumers.
Given the ongoing transition towards a more decentralised and adaptive energy system, the potential of blockchain-enabled smart contracts for the energy sector is being increasingly recognised. Due to their self-executing, customisable and tamper-proof nature, they are seen as a key technology for enabling the transition to a more efficient, transparent and transactive energy market. The applications of smart contracts include coordination of smart electric vehicle charging, automated demand-side response, peer-to-peer energy trading and allocation of the control duties amongst the network operators. Nevertheless, their use in the energy sector is still in its early stages as there are many open challenges related to security, privacy, scalability and billing. In this paper, we systematically review 178 peer-reviewed publications and 13 innovation projects, providing a thorough analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of smart contracts used in the energy sector. This work offers a broad perspective on the opportunities and challenges that stakeholders using this technology face, in both current and emergent markets, such as peer-to-peer energy trading platforms. To provide a roadmap for researchers and practitioners interested in the technology, we propose a systematic model of the smart contracting process, by developing a novel 6-layer architecture, as well as presenting a sample energy contract in pseudocode form and as open-source code. Our analysis focuses on the two mainstream application areas we identify for smart contract use in this area: energy and flexibility trading, and distributed control. The paper concludes with a comprehensive, critical discussion of the advantages and challenges that must be addressed in the area of smart contracts and blockchains in energy, and a set of recommendations that researchers and developers should consider when applying smart contracts to energy system settings.
The energy transition to renewable energy in a democratic way is directly connected to the development of energy communities and community microgrids. Los Molinos del Rio Aguas (LMRA), an ecological community in the south of Spain, offers a promising case study for an off-grid community-owned microgrid. In this paper, the interconnection of autonomous solar home systems is proposed with the addition of community assets in order to create an off-grid community microgrid that is financially beneficial for the community. Based on this scenario, a Local Energy Market (LEM) based on Distributed Ledger (DL) technologies is implemented in order to foster the energy exchange and contribute to the social welfare of the community. The results provide a win-win scenario for the community and provides an example of an off-grid community microgrid in combination with a LEM that takes into consideration the social aspect of the community.
Abstract Since the early beginnings of the electricity system, storage has been of high relevance for balancing supply and demand. Through expanded electricity production by variable renewable technologies such as wind and photovoltaics, the discussion about new options for storage technologies is emerging. In addition, the electricity markets were subject to remarkable alterations. Some developments which describe these changes are increasing electricity generation from variable renewables and the continuing decentralization. These developments have led, among other required transformations, to demands for additional capacities of storage technologies. However, their economics will play a crucial role in their effective market penetration in the following years. The core objective of this work is to conduct a review on the relevance of storage options for electricity and its costs, economics, welfare effects, and on issues of electricity market design. In addition, based on expected Technological Learning prospects for future economics are derived. The major result is that the perspectives of electricity storage systems from an economic viewpoint are highly dependent on the storage's operation time, the nature of the overall system, availability of other flexibility options, and sector coupling. All market‐based storage technologies have to prove their performance in the large electricity markets or if applied decentralized, the (battery) systems compete with the electricity prices at the final customers level when the battery costs are also taken into consideration. Yet, new storage capacities should only be added when it is clear that electricity generation from variable renewables will also be expanded in a way that excess generation is expected. This article is categorized under: Policy and Economics > Green Economics and Financing Energy and Power Systems > Energy Infrastructure Emerging Technologies > Energy Storage
Valeri Mladenov, Veselin Chobanov, George Serițan, Radu Porumb · 9 authors
The paper’s main objective is to demonstrate the trading and flexibility of services amongst TSOs, DSOs, and Prosumers in a transparent, secure, and cost-effective manner using Blockchain-based TSO-DSO flexibility marketplace (EFLEX). The aim is to look for ways to help DSOs/TSOs be more flexible and more directly engaged in managing energy flows on the network. EFLEX will streamline the needs of both TSO and DSO on the same platform. Based on the paper’s proposed services, the pilot service demonstration will be carried out in Bulgaria and Romania, and the main focus will be on congestion management, TSO-DSO Coordination, and Marketplace. The proposed objective is achieved by using Blockchain-based smart contracts and distributed ledger technology.
Global warming caused by greenhouse gases is one of the problems that need to be solved urgently. Blockchain technology can achieve automatic quota certification and settlement, providing a new direction for carbon emissions trading. This paper provides a quantitative analysis of blockchain-based carbon emissions trading through the Repast simulation platform. Firstly, it designs the blockchain-based carbon emissions trading simulation framework from a macro perspective, including identity and quota certification, quota trading, risk prevention and smart contracts management. Then, it establishes a blockchain-based carbon emissions trading simulation model and formulates the behavior rules of the government, investors and company agents and market transaction processes. Finally, it simulates the carbon emissions trading based on public chain and private chain on the Repast platform, and analyzes the simulation results.
Zhiwei Chen, Wenxin Guo, Ruifeng Zhao, Yang Liu · 5 authors
The purpose is to realize the decentralized microgrid economic dispatch, improve the information transparency and security of microgrid systems, and make the power grid move towards a clean, safe, efficient, and reliable development path. Deep learning optimization of microgrid economic dispatch and wireless power transmission based on blockchain technology are studied. First, the related theories and methods of microgrid systems, wireless power transmission, and deep learning optimization based on blockchain technology are introduced. Next, the microgrid economic dispatch is simulated and analyzed on a large scale. Finally, the comparison results between microgrid economic dispatch and common radio energy transmission technologies are analyzed. The results show that daily planning can better coordinate the state of distributed generation, energy storage system, and public connection. The operation results of the previous day correspond to the long‐term operation economy of the microgrid. The total operation cost of the microgrid is 4668 yuan/day, and the remaining power is maintained between 500 and 600 kW, which helps to prevent excessive battery discharge, prolong battery life, and reduce operation cost. The simulation results show that the total power imbalance of the microgrid can reduce the output fluctuation of controllable load shedding of distributed generation. When the load characteristics are not important, the output fluctuation of controllable distributed generation can be reduced. The proposed economic dispatch model can optimize the data security, information storage, and information release of the microgrid and has a certain guiding role for the development of the national power grid and power industry.
Liaqat Ali, M. Imran Azim, Jan Peters, Vivek Bhandari · 8 authors
This paper presents a collated case study on local energy market (LEM) in Australia, in which energy users take part frequently in peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading among themselves considering the agile presence of energy retailers and distribution utilities. To do so, first, an overview is provided in regard to LEM architecture, trading model with energy retailers, and the blockchain structure. Then, a new P2P trading mechanism is proposed in the LEM that enables both energy users, i.e., sellers and buyers, to reap financial benefits compared to the existing business-as-usual (BAU) model — where local power is exported and imported via feed-in-tariff (FiT) and time-of-use (ToU) rates. The proposed LEM framework also exploits residential battery energy storage systems (RBESSs); and the community battery energy storage systems (CBESSs) to balance local supply and demand appropriately and contributes towards lowering exports/imports from/to power grids by means of bilateral P2P transactions while the inclusion of responsible energy retailers are assured. Moreover, the margins of both energy retailers and distribution utilities are kept unchanged or increased to some extent by the proposed trading model to incorporate them in the LEM framework effectively. Finally, diverse case studies are provided to validate the proposed LEM mechanism with various studied models and demonstrate the superior performance in contrast with the present-day BAU model.
Most of the world’s countries are concerned with reducing harmful gas emissions. Some governments have made considerable attempts to address this problem. Saudi Arabia, for example, has taken significant steps to utilize renewable energy (RE) sources in addition to oil and gas. Consumers are encouraged to build small RE systems. These small grids will help people meet their daily electrical energy requirements. They can sell the excess to other customers. One of the major issues is managing the distribution and sale of RE. Blockchain-based peer-to-peer (P2P) networks can help overcome several obstacles to the implementation of a distributed RE management system (DREMS). However, several impediments may still stand in the way of its execution. Scalability and productivity are two of the most important considerations. The number of transactions made to the Blockchain network will increase in lockstep with the number of energy consumers. This will result in a significant lag in response. Understanding the renewable distributed energy system will aid in minimizing the effects of these roadblocks. Therefore, this research identifies the RE systems installation approaches, and how Blockchain technology can be utilized. It provides the solution requirements of any DREMS. Moreover, it proposes a new Blockchain-based framework for DREMS. And designs selective protocols of the proposed framework. The designed protocols are evaluated through a comparative analysis with the state of the art identified requirements.
Raifa Akkaoui, Alexandru Ştefanov, Peter Pálenský, Dick Epema
The concept of the internet of energy (IoE) emerged as an innovative paradigm to encompass all the complex and intertwined notions relevant to the transition of current smart grids towards more decarbonization, digitalization and decentralization. With a focus on the two last aspects, the amount of intelligent devices being connected in a scattered way to the existing power grid is ever-growing. Nevertheless, guaranteeing a cyber-secure and resilient control of these IoE components as well as a seamless and reliable delivery of electricity services, such as renewable energy exchange, electric vehicles charging, demand response, and so forth; might be the bottleneck of current power systems that are largely still functioning following a centralized approach. Thus, the future power grid would gradually incorporate a growing number of distributed-based control schemes to deal with this challenge. And many believe that blockchain could be a key-enabler in this transition, due to its consistent characteristics with multiple requirements of future power systems. In this paper, we provide an extensive state-of-the-art of blockchain-based additions to the IoE. Where, we first introduce various concepts related to blockchain and discuss the rationale behind its adoption in the context of IoE. Then, differently from the existing body of literature surveys, we do not only provide a taxonomy and evaluate a wide range of recent research outputs that integrated blockchain within modern power systems. But we also draw some valuable lessons learned for each studied category and discuss the intersection of blockchain with various emerging paradigms that have the potential of radically impacting the smart grid. In addition, we present some real-world industrial initiatives and ongoing projects built on top of blockchain, dedicated for offering diverse electricity services with a case study of a pilot project on energy trading in Amsterdam. Finally, we discuss the remaining challenges and worthwhile opportunities of deploying blockchain in this particular area, with a focus on the aspect of operational cyber-security.
Access to affordable, reliable and clean energy is an important sustainability goal of the United Nations. In areas where the public electricity grid is unreliable or unavailable, photovoltaic systems can be a solution. However, they are cost-intensive, mainly because of the energy storage systems. Mini-grids can be an answer for reducing upfront investment and overall system lifetime costs while increasing electricity availability. The mini-grid technology is mature, nevertheless, there are downsides when it comes to integrating existing solar systems of different manufacturers. The system topology is usually predefined and a central instance controls the mini-grid. Thus, the integration of existing power systems is difficult due to the communication constraints of these systems with the mini-grid controller. Including existing power systems into a decentralized mini-grid, can highly increase cost-efficiency. In a decentralized approach payments for the consumed energy between mini-grid actors are required. Accounting is, however, a complex administrative procedure, if the respective power systems are owned by different individuals and organizations. A transparent blockchain-based temper-proof approach can be a solution to automate metering and billing, allowing automatic payments between independent subsystem owners using smart contracts. In order to further optimize the smart mini-grid, an artificial intelligence learning algorithm for a dynamic electricity price needs to be developed. This smart and decentralized approach for building Mini-Grids is a novelty bringing solar systems one step closer to self-sufficiency. This paper describes how a smart mini-grid solution can be implemented using the Don Bosco Solar & Renewable Energy Center campus mini-grid in Tema, Ghana as a case study.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading is emerging as an increasingly popular approach because prosumers are allowed to trade their energy directly without intermediaries. This decentralised trading structure could be matched with the blockchain function to provide a more robust cyber-physical system as the blockchain is able to ensure the integrity of the transaction data and the privacy of prosumers. Since the consensus protocol of the blockchain determines its usage, a proper blockchain type and an effective pricing scheme design are required to safeguard the energy trading and improve the social welfare of the microgrid. In addition, a stable power delivery system is significant as it supports the energy trading. Therefore, the control system of the microgrid should also be safeguarded against any cyber attacks such as false data injection (FDI). The cryptographic mechanism and distributed ledger recording function enable the blockchain to provide a comprehensive protection for both P2P energy trading and control system. With the support of the smart contracts, designing a proper pricing scheme for energy trading and ensuring the security of the distributed secondary control for the frequency of the microgrid is a challenging task.
Tariq Al-Abri, Ahmet Önen, Rashid Al Abri, Abdulnasir Hossen · 7 authors
With the rapid transformation of the energy sector towards modern power systems represented by smart grids (SGs), microgrids (MG), and distributed generation, blockchain (BC) technology has shown the capability for solving security, privacy, and reliability challenges that hinder progress. Currently, the energy structure is forming a decentralized system that prioritizes customer satisfaction. BC technology undertakes power network stockholders in a secure energy market, transparent transactions, and fair competition and offers promising energy solutions. This paper is a comprehensive review of energy applications using BC integration. Firstly, we introduce the drivers of BC leverage that make it a potentially important component of the power network. Following that, we provide background information on BC and its application in areas other than the energy sector. Subsequently, we discuss studies and sort potential energy applications from various recent papers and surveys that have already adopted BC technology in the energy sector. Then, we summarize the pricing infrastructure for applying BC in the energy sector and identify the requirements to build it. Finally, energy security and privacy challenges based on BC are highlighted, along with potential drawbacks and concerns related to the pricing infrastructure.
Md. Tayeen Khan, Md. Nozib Ud Dowla, Fardin Ahmed Niloy
The popularity of renewable energy is increasing due to its cost effectiveness. However, not everyone can generate and fulfill their energy demand, so energy trading is necessary. Current solutions are centralised and charged at a high fee for energy trading as they have a monopoly in the market. Energy trading requires the storage, verification, and sharing of data related to the trade while keeping records tamper-proof. Traditional database solutions are centralised and susceptible to data tempering. In our proposed scheme, we aim to solve those problems with the help of blockchain technology by storing data on blockchain and verifying transactions with the PoA consensus algorithm for faster processing. We tested our scheme against the Ethereum network and found that our scheme has a significant improvement in cost and processing. In the future, with the help of machine learning, pricing for each transaction can be optimised.
The advent of blockchain technology allows the raise of new business models for the electricity market, opening the way also to end-users and letting them offer regulation services to the power grid. Thanks to the characteristic of being distributed, the blockchain technology could be a solution to balancing problems caused by the penetration of renewable sources, implementing a platform for Demand-Response programs delivery. Demand-Response allows consumers to respond to market signals by increasing or reducing their energy consumption, contributing to greater flexibility and stability of the grid and to a more efficient use of infrastructures and energy resources. Currently, Demand-Response is carried out by controlling aggregates of loads, storage or generating units managed by centralized Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems such as SCADA. Regulatory changes and the increasing penetration of renewable sources distributed over the territory are turning the whole electricity system into a smart-grid. More recently and with reference to the end-users participation in regulation services, smartness is achieved through the so-called Internet of Things, which can be considered the modern equivalent of SCADA, but with the possibility of to being applied to distributed and diversified assets. For this reason, great efforts have been made to study the interoperability and coexistence between Internet of Things and blockchain, two emerging paradigms that are gaining popularity in the energy world. Limited or no contribution can instead be found in the literature on the integration of SCADA systems and blockchain. Indeed, in order to ensure an easier and faster widespread application of blockchain in the context of power systems, it is interesting to study its possible coexistence with legacy and more established industrial technologies such as OpenADR or SCADA. In Europe, the prevailing technology is the latter one. For this reason, in this paper, the coexistence of blockchain technology with SCADA systems is discussed. In particular, both Hyperledger Fabric blockchain and SCADA systems are considered together to assess the feasibility of aggregation of energy resources for Demand-Response, as well as the relevant measured data. The analysis is carried out by first presenting the two different paradigms: the centralized data acquisition in trusted environments and analysis via OpenADR and SCADA, and the global, distributed and secured ones with the blockchain. Then an architecture for the integration of SCADA and blockchain technology is proposed and the related challenges within the frame of a project for innovative technologies DR programs implementation are outlined.
Ümit Cali, Muhammet Deveci, Shammya Shananda Saha, Ugur Halden · 5 authors
The modern power systems are evolving in parallel to the development of other technological trends such as decarbonization and digitalization. While the penetration of renewable energy resources is increasing within the national and regional energy mix, emerging digitalization technologies, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain technology are shaping modern power systems. Especially blockchain technology has a very high potential to disrupt the current and future energy sector landscape by enabling various use cases in this domain. This paper aims to prioritize different energy use cases where blockchain technology can actively be utilized to create additional value. This study proposes a Type-2 Neutrosophic Number (T2NN) based Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) to evaluate and rank a set of existing use cases of an energy blockchain system. Testing and validation of the model is done through a comparison against one alternative T2NN based Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) model and an existing approach from literature. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is performed, revealing that changing criteria weightings do not affect the ranking order of the use cases of the energy blockchain system. Prioritizing the use cases can assist the companies, standardization bodies, and related government authorities to make better decisions for their operations, such as ranking the investment decisions.
Zahra Foroozandeh, Sérgio Ramos, João Soares, Zita Vale
In this paper, a collective residential building is considered in which the following points are taken into consideration: (i) a flexibility value of Contract Power (CP) is considered for each consumer; (ii) it is assumed a single CP for the entire building; (iii) an energy resource manager entity is considered to manage the energy resources in the residential building, such as Electric Vehicles (EVs), Photovoltaic (PV) generation system, and the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). Taking into consideration the previous assumptions, the major goal of this work is to minimize the electricity consumption costs of the residential building by using a Multi-Objective Mixed-Binary Linear Programming (MOMBLP) formulation. The objective function of the MOMBLP model minimizes the electricity cost consumption of each apartment. Then, a Goal Programming (GP) strategy is applied to find the most appropriate solutions for the proposed MOMBLP model. Finally, the performance of the suggested model is evaluated by comparing the obtained results from a Single-Objective Mixed-Binary Linear Programming (SOMBLP) approach in which the whole building consumption cost is minimized. The results show that using the GP strategy a reduction of 7.5% in the total annual energy consumption is verified in comparison with SOMBLP. Moreover, the GP approach leads to fair benefit among building consumers, by finding a solution with less distance from the desired level.
As a decentralized database technology, blockchain is increasingly being applied to smart grids. This paper proposes a blockchain-based smart microgrid power transaction model. The model realizes the power dispatching between users and agents in the microgrid through two-way auctions and point-to-point transactions and optimizes energy allocation through market regulation. And based on the Ethereum private chain, it ensures the openness, transparency, safety, and reliability of transactions. The simulation results show that the open and reliable features of the blockchain improve the efficiency of power dispatching, and verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the model.