Pierluigi Siano, Giuseppe De Marco, Alejandro Rolán, Vincenzo Loia
The unpredictability and intermittency introduced by Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) in power systems may lead to unforeseen peaks of energy production, which might differ from energy demand. To manage these mismatches, a proper communication between prosumers (i.e., users with RESs that can either inject or absorb energy) and active users (i.e., users that agree to have their loads changed according to the system needs) is required. To achieve this goal, the centralized approach used in traditional power systems is no longer possible because both prosumers and active users would like to take part in energy transactions, and a decentralized approach based on transactive energy systems (TESs) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) energy transactions should be adopted. In this context, the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), based on the blockchain concept arises as the most promising solution to enable smart contracts between prosumers and active users, which are safely guarded in blocks with cryptographic hashes. The aim of this paper is to provide a review about the deployment of decentralized TESs and to propose and discuss a transactive management infrastructure. In this context, the concept of Proof of Energy is proposed as a novel consensus protocol for P2P energy exchanges managed by DLT. An application of the proposed infrastructure considering a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) aggregator and residential prosumers endowed with a new transactive controller to manage the electrical storage system is discussed.
Blockchain is the key technology of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and it is one of the most exciting technologies changing the world as of late. Targeting at big industrial energy users, this paper first presents a new market structure (i.e., transaction rules) under existing blockchain-based electricity transaction platforms to cover popular types of markets such as contract, day-ahead, adjustment and balancing markets; and then focuses on the optimal load management problem for a particular industrial user. The proof-of-work cost from blockchain is also modeled. A key feature of this load management problem is that the user has direct control on its own load. The obtained load control model is much more accurate than existing approaches in which system operators or demand aggregators cannot control load directly and have to rely on inaccurate estimations. As a case study, the pumping load of a water supply plant is investigated to illustrate how the demand load is managed under this blockchain-based market. From the case study, it is found that 18.9% of total cost can be saved under this new market structure.
The blooming trend of smart grid deployment is engaged by the evolution of the network technology, as the connected environment offers various alternatives for electrical data collections. Having diverse data sharing/transfer means is deemed an important aspect in enabling intelligent controls/governance in smart grid. However, security and privacy concerns also are introduced while flexible communication services are provided, such as energy depletion and infrastructure mapping attacks. This paper proposes a model permissioned blockchain edge model for smart grid network (PBEM-SGN) to address the two significant issues in smart grid, privacy protections, and energy security, by means of combining blockchain and edge computing techniques. We use group signatures and covert channel authorization techniques to guarantee users' validity. An optimal security-aware strategy is constructed by smart contracts running on the blockchain. Our experiments have evaluated the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Zejia Jing, Manisa Pipattanasomporn, Saifur Rahman
Demand reduction, also known as Negawatts or negative watts, has emerged as another commodity that can be exchanged. This paper discusses conceptual architecture of a blockchain-based negawatt trading platform implemented on Hyperledger. Two trading scenarios are discussed. The first scenario involves negawatt trading between a demand response aggregator and buildings. The second scenario discusses negawatt trading among buildings to meet the contract shortfalls of buildings in the first scenario. Participants, assets, transactions and transaction flows of both scenarios are described, together with the smart contracts that describe how buyers and sellers are compensated for their negawatt exchange. Case studies are implemented and compared.
Blockchain technology has worked over the years and is being successfully applied in finance industry. The characteristics of decentralization, openness, immutability and security provide a natural solution to the distributed autonomy management for diverse energy sources and the transaction between a wide range of participants in the energy power industry. This paper introduces the current development status and the research on the application of blockchain technology in this industry in China from the aspects of demand response, point-to-point transaction and distributed energy resource. Existed problems and suggestions are concluded for the future studies.
S. M. Suhail Hussain, Shaik Mullapathi Farooq, Taha Selim Ustun
Proliferation of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) changed power system operation drastically. They introduced generation at distribution level, which was unprecedented. Also, bidirectional power flow created more optimization opportunities such as Demand Side Management (DSM) and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) support. These schemes allow for efficient use of grid infrastructure, storage devices and DERs. In order to plan the operation and calculate bills, it is imperative to keep a record of these transactions. When some sort of trading occurs between multiple parties, trust is a major concern. Traditionally, a third part trusted by all keeps the record of transactions. Using blockchain technology for energy trading eliminates the role of trusted third party. This paper discusses the feasibility and benefits of implementing blockchain for smartgrids. It also develops an Ethereum-based implementation of blockchain technology for energy trading. Results are shown for a case where energy transactions are undertaken between Distribution System Operator (DSO) and smart meters of individual houses.
Thanks to rapid technological advances in the Internet of Things (IoT), a smart public safety (SPS) system has become feasible by integrating heterogeneous computing devices to collaboratively provide public protection services. While a service oriented architecture (SOA) has been adopted by IoT and cyber-physical systems (CPS), it is difficult for a monolithic architecture to provide scalable and extensible services for a distributed IoT based SPS system. Furthermore, traditional security solutions rely on a centralized authority, which can be a performance bottleneck or single point failure. Inspired by microservices architecture and blockchain technology, this paper proposes a BLockchain-ENabled Decentralized Microservices Architecture for Smart public safety (BlendMAS). Within a permissioned blockchain network, a microservices based security mechanism is introduced to secure data access control in an SPS system. The functionality of security services are decoupled into separate containerized microservices that are built using a smart contract, and deployed on edge and fog computing nodes. An extensive experimental study verified that the proposed BlendMAS is able to offer a decentralized, scalable and secured data sharing and access control to distributed IoT based SPS system.
The peer-to-peer energy trading has been achieved among nodes in industrial Internet of Things. To establish a secure private market, some meaningful works propose the concept of the energy chain, where one block is added in a linear and chronological order once the trading pair of nodes (buyer and seller) has a valid transaction verified by data audit (e.g., a hash value). Since the buyer applies virtual coins from the credit bank to buy others' surplus energy, a considerable credit utility is obtained if all nodes are encouraged to meet local power loads out of self-interest. However, such frequent transactions have huge operational overhead, including a long chain maintaining many blocks and an expensive energy transportation cost between trading pairs. To solve these challenging issues, our method enables nodes to satisfy their power loads through local stored energy (self-sufficiency), before participating as sellers if they still have considerable surplus electricity. Without transactions made by some self-sufficient nodes, the operational overhead can be mitigated in a more secure environment. Taking the classic Internet of energy as a case study, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our solutions, and it can achieve a good tradeoff between credit utility and operational overhead.
With the rapid growth of renewable energy resources, energy trading has been shifting from the centralized manner to distributed manner. Blockchain, as a distributed public ledger technology, has been widely adopted in the design of new energy trading schemes. However, there are many challenging issues in blockchain-based energy trading, e.g., low efficiency, high transaction cost, and security and privacy issues. To tackle these challenges, many solutions have been proposed. In this survey, the blockchain-based energy trading in the electrical power system is thoroughly investigated. Firstly, the challenges in blockchain-based energy trading are identified and summarized. Then, the existing energy trading schemes are studied and classified into three categories based on their main focuses: energy transaction, consensus mechanism, and system optimization. Blockchain-based energy trading has been a popular research topic, new blockchain architectures, models and products are continually emerging to overcome the limitations of existing solutions, forming a virtuous circle. The internal combination of different blockchain types and the combination of blockchain with other technologies improve the blockchain-based energy trading system to better satisfy the practical requirements of modern power systems. However, there are still some problems to be solved, for example, the lack of regulatory system, environmental challenges and so on. In the future, we will strive for a better optimized structure and establish a comprehensive security assessment model for blockchain-based energy trading system.
Abstract Nowadays, people trade electricity through centralized companies or organizations which is vulnerable to cyber attacks and incapable of coping with increasing demands from stakeholders. In this paper, we propose a new Peer-to-Peer Electricity Blockchain Trading (P2PEBT) system based on the current charging and discharging schemes for electric vehicles (EV) in the smart grid to enable users to participate in the trading process. In order to cope with the current situation of the high volume of EV integration, the proof-of-Benefit (PoB) consensus primitives are proposed for P2PEBT to achieve demand response by providing incentives to balance local electricity demand in the novel blockchain system. PoB is implemented by executing the smart contracts on the Ethereum platform, and the process of achieving the maximal benefits is completed by submitting the transaction in the decentralized network. Security analysis shows that the P2PEBT system is able to manage a potential protection against up to a number of attacks. We demonstrate that the proposed system using the PoB consensus mechanism can achieve lower power fluctuation without requiring a third-party intermediary.
Asraful Alam, Mohammad Tausiful Islam, Arafa Ferdous
With the impetuous growth of modernization electricity demand is at its highest peak. So power market becomes a major issue in terms of trading symmetry and security. The traditional power market is unidirectional in nature, i.e. power plant supplies electricity to the customers which leads to centralization and monopoly. As the prosumers (producer and consumer) arises, microgrid becomes popular with its bidirectional energy supply configuration. Yet, there exist several challenges in energy demand management, trading and security. This paper proposes a blockchain-based approach to address those challenges with minimal effort. A double chained model of blockchain is proposed to facilitate trading among prosumers; algorithms are designed to deploy smart contracts and to form coalition and negotiate electricity trading; several techniques and scenarios are outlined to ease implementation.
Yuehao Zhao, Ke Peng, Bingyin Xu, Yuquan Liu · 6 authors
Blockchain is regarded as a revolutionary technology, which is widely used in different fields all over world, especially for the application in energy field. With the development of distributed generation, there’s a greater opportunity for distributed generation trading. In the near future, everyone may be able to sell their surplus electricity generated by their rooftop photovoltaic. It can be determined that blockchain can increase the trust between transactors. Blockchain can provide convenience for peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading. In addition, blockchain can be used in other energy fields such as IOT, shared EV charging pile and etc. Because of the above advantages, many countries in the world are developing energy blockchain and have built some applied engineering programs. Some representative projects in US are introduced in this paper, and advanced technologies adopted in these existing projects are also analyzed. Finally, suggestions for developing energy blockchain technology and conclusions are given.
As a basic building block of the smart grid, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is substantial for gathering and sending consumption and production data of consumers. The applications facilitated by blockchain technology like local peer to peer (P2P) markets challenge the centrally organized utility industry with its disruptive potential and rely also heavily on AMIs as data source. However, such technologies pose a number of engineering challenges in early stage pilot projects: Unlike centrally managed AMIs, local P2P markets in particular require AMIs to exchange data with their peer devices, which increases the communication requirements due to the decentral nature of blockchain networks. In this paper, we compare the bandwidth requirement of real-time AMI with the requirements for a blockchain managed peer to peer market. By benchmarking both a normal operation and a high throughput scenario we find a ten times higher demand in bandwidth of the blockchain-based solution compared to real-time AMI and select the appropriate communication technology for an upcoming field test.
Dinar Orazgaliyev, Yerbolat Lukpanov, Ikechi Augustine Ukaegbu, H. S. V. S. Kumar Nunna
The concept of smart grid infrastructure is already being implemented and progressing rapidly. The number of countries are transforming the traditional power grid so that it will be able to maintain the smart grid requirements. Smart grid is known as an evolutionary power grid which is proposed to make intelligent decisions on its own based on a current state of electrical power system. Microgrid (MG) is a "building block" of smart grid which supposed to provide wider control capability into the system, thus allowing to operate without connection to the grid. However, the remote and autonomous control of the smart grid may result in problems related to security. The main purpose of this paper is to consider various application scenarios of the Blockchain technology in smart grid. The utmost example is smart contract feature. It allows to reduce cost and increase security of trading operations without including third parties. In other words, direct communication between seller and consumer is implemented. Particularly, paper explain how the security and resilience of the system can be improved by the application of Blockchain technology. Furthermore, decentralized machine-to-machine interaction scheme is proposed. First of all, auction based electricity trading platform is established in Jade platform, and further on electricity trading history is stored in blockchain. The proposed case study shows implementation possibility of smart contracts in smart grid environment.
Integration of renewables and energy storage, leading to rise of prosumers, has created localized bidirectional flows. As the result, the utility demand has decreased and traditional centralized controller can no longer realize the optimal performance of ever growing distribution systems. To achieve scalable control, exploiting the potential of smart loads and Distributed Energy Resource (DER) controllability, a framework for decentralized Peer-To-Peer (P2P) energy management has been developed to manage localized micro-energy markets. Such decentralized management approach could, in theory, sustain diverse prosumer and utility business models. We have been developing an autonomous decentralized management solution that maximizes the benefit of prosumers while protecting utility assets. This P2P energy trading market leverages Blockchain technology and its Smart Contract framework. This paper presents 1) transactive energy market for P2P multi-settlement markets, 2) architecture of blockchain-based energy management system, 3) smart contract design that solves an economic dispatch problem of DERs to maximize the profit of pro/consumers.
This paper studies the design and management of distributed energy systems incorporating residential, commercial and industrial users. A hierarchical framework is first proposed for the energy demand side management through peer-to-peer exchange of information and energy in the real-time market. Smart contracts guaranteed by blockchain technologies are implemented to create a seamless and efficient trading system. The benefits of distributed energy management are presented such as economic savings, reduction of peak load and increased market efficiency facilitated by blockchain.
Implementing blockchain techniques has enabled secure smart trading in many realms, e.g. neighboring energy trading. However, trading information recorded on the blockchain also brings privacy concerns. Attackers can utilize data mining algorithms to obtain users' privacy, specially, when the user group is located in nearby geographic positions. In this paper, we present a consortium blockchain-oriented approach to solve the problem of privacy leakage without restricting trading functions. The proposed approach mainly addresses energy trading users' privacy in smart grid and screens the distribution of energy sale of sellers deriving from the fact that various energy trading volumes can be mined to detect its relationships with other information, such as physical location and energy usage. Experiment evaluations have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
Smart Grid Security and Resilience
Advanced Steganography and Watermarking Techniques
Shen Wang, Ahmad F. Taha, Jianhui Wang, Karla Kvaternik · 5 authors
The power grid is rapidly transforming, and while recent grid innovations increased the utilization of advanced control methods, the next-generation grid demands technologies that enable the integration of distributed energy resources (DERs)---and consumers that both seamlessly buy and sell electricity. This paper develops an optimization model and blockchain-based architecture to manage the operation of crowdsourced energy systems (CES), with peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading transactions. An operational model of CESs in distribution networks is presented considering various types of energy trading transactions and crowdsourcees. Then, a two-phase operation algorithm is presented: Phase I focuses on the day-ahead scheduling of generation and controllable DERs, whereas Phase II is developed for hour-ahead or real-time operation of distribution networks. The developed approach supports seamless P2P energy trading between individual prosumers and/or the utility. The presented operational model can also be used to operate islanded microgrids. The CES framework and the operation algorithm are then prototyped through an efficient blockchain implementation, namely the IBM Hyperledger Fabric. This implementation allows the system operator to manage the network users to seamlessly trade energy. Case studies and prototype illustration are provided.
Blockchain technology is playing an increasingly important role in the Management Information System especially in the data security aspect. In this paper, we propose a blockchain based system for the data distribution and traceability analysis in Electric Management Information System (EMIS). The blockchain and smart contract is studied to ensure the security of data share in the system. The experimental results indicate that the proposed demo system can efficiently support the data share and supply the undeniable traceability services in EMIS.
Blockchain technology has been applied in many fields to improve the management and data security of the information systems. In this paper, we describe the applications of blockchain technology in Electric Management Information System. First, the components and structure of the blockchain framework are introduced. Then the blockchain based authentication application is studied to integrate with existing IT infrastructure. Finally, the benefit and limitations of the proposed integrated framework are analyzed. As industrial application research, this paper could give a reference example for the applications of blockchain in the data management system.
The systematic integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) into the supply chain to increase operational efficiency and quality has also introduced new complexities to the threat landscape. The myriad of sensors could increase data collection capabilities for businesses to facilitate process automation aided by Artificial Intelligence (AI) but without adopting an appropriate Security-by-Design framework, threat detection and response are destined to fail. The emerging concept of Smart Workplace incorporates many CPS (e.g. Robots and Drones) to execute tasks alongside Employees both of which can be exploited as Insider Threats. We introduce and discuss forensic-readiness, liability attribution and the ability to track moving Smart SPS Objects to support modern Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) within a defence-in-depth strategy. We present a framework to facilitate the tracking of object behaviour within Smart Controlled Business Environments (SCBE) to support resilience by enabling proactive insider threat detection. Several components of the framework were piloted in a company to discuss a real-life case study and demonstrate anomaly detection and the emerging of behavioural patterns according to objects' movement with relation to their job role, workspace position and nearest entry or exit. The empirical data was collected from a Bluetooth-based Proximity Monitoring Solution. Furthermore, a key strength of the framework is a federated Blockchain (BC) model to achieve forensic-readiness by establishing a digital Chain-of-Custody (CoC) and a collaborative environment for CPS to qualify as Digital Witnesses (DW) to support post-incident investigations.
This paper proposes a contract based mechanism to ensure the optimal management of a microgrid including smart buildings and local generation. The aim is to find a trade-off between the microgrid management system (MGMS) and the building energy management systems (BEMS) while preserving the building privacy. In this approach, the MGMS guaranties the prices of energy for buildings and the BEMS provides upward and downward flexibility proposals that can be activated by the MGMS. The exchanges between the two management systems are standardized and independent of the mechanism used by the BEMS to provide flexibility. The framework is implemented for electric heating buildings and an example is provided.